Black-yellow-white flag - whose is it?

Every person must know not only the past of his country, but also the history of the emergence of its main symbols of state power. In this article, we would like to describe the Imperial or National Emblem, the black-yellow-white flag, whose it, when it appeared and what it was.

What does the flag mean?

The banner of any country has a deep sacral meaning and capacitively expresses its originality. This official symbol of statehood represents a nation, describing its spiritual reality. The flags depict important symbolic emblems, the emblem or its individual elements, which conditionally can tell about significant historical events, traditions, beliefs and even about the economy and geographical location of the country. The colors of the banner always have a profound meaning, expressing the unity of the people, its power, the desire for freedom and peace. The Russian black-yellow-white flag became a sacred symbol of the Great Country, state power and fortress, stability and inviolability of the historical borders of our Motherland. We will describe it in detail later.

The history of the Russian flag. The first national flag

State flags, like hymns, began to appear in European countries only from the end of the XVIII century. Until that time, of course, there were various banners and arms of aristocratic families, dynasties, merchant and military fleets, badges of guilds and shops. In Russia, military banners-banners were distributed. They often depicted the faces of the Mother of God, the Savior and saints. They were sacred, like icons, often prayed before them and prayers served. Tsarist banners were considered banners of the state, but up until the 17th century they had no official status, therefore they often changed their appearance, color and shape. It is believed that the origin of the first Russian flag was put by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who issued two special edicts in 1668-1669. They ordered to raise over the Russian warships a white-blue-red banner.

Flags of the reign of Peter the Great and Elizabeth Petrovna

Later, Peter I continued the work of creating the state banner. In 1693, the "flag of the Tsar of Moscow" was raised on the St. Peter's warship, which was a cloth (4.6 by 4.9 m) made of horizontal stripes of blue, red and white colors. On the flag in the middle of the golden paint was a two-headed eagle. In 1699 the tsar himself drew a sketch of the three-lane flag of the Russian kingdom. In addition to the tricolor used on military ships, Peter I approved another state standard - a yellow cloth with a black eagle painted in the center, which held four maps with images of the Caspian, White and Azov seas, as well as the Gulf of Finland. The next stage in the creation of the Russian state banner was the procedure of the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna. By the ceremony (1742), a new banner of the Russian Empire was developed, consisting of a yellow cloth with a black two-headed eagle, surrounded by oval shields with coats of arms.

Russian flag black, yellow, white - "imperial"

The next national flag was created on the day of the coronation of Alexander II. He looked like this: on the golden panel were depicted a black eagle and white George the Victorious on horseback. Proposed to create such a flag, the heraldist B. V. Köhne, who was engaged in the development of the arms of the Russian Empire and the Romanov dynasty. He believed that for the new Russian national flag it is necessary to establish the coat of arms - black, silver and gold, as it was accepted in the heraldry of many European countries. Later, on June 11, 1856, Alexander II, by his order, approved the new appearance of the National Flag and established from now on that all banners, standards, pennants and other items used in ceremonial occasions should have the coat of arms of the Russian Empire. So in Russia there was a black-yellow-white flag. This tricolor was used on various solemn days, including the coronation of Alexander III. The black-yellow-white flag of the Russian Empire looked as it is shown in the following figure.

Later it was called the national flag of Gerbov. According to the government, ordinary people, beholding the coat of arms on the national banner, were attached to Russian culture and history.

What symbolized the banner, approved by Emperor Alexander II

Each color of the flag - black, yellow, white - was deeply symbolic. Let's take a closer look at what they meant. Black, the color of the two-headed eagle, showed the imperial power, statehood, fortress and stability. He pointed to the inviolability of the borders of the Russian Empire, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea. He marked the strength and power of a huge country. Golden (or yellow) color also had a huge value. In the past, it was the main color of the banner of Orthodox Byzantium and was perceived by the Russian people as a symbol of spirituality and religiosity. The yellow color symbolized the desire for moral development, perfection, and also the firmness of the spirit. He marked the preservation of the Orthodox faith in purity and the comprehension of Divine truth. White color symbolized purity and eternity. For Russian people, he was a reflection of the acts of St. George the Victorious and meant the desire to defend his native land and to preserve the Russian land, even sacrificing himself. The white color spoke of the enormous strength of the spirit of the Russian national character, the steadfastness and steadfastness of the defenders of the Russian land. Orthodoxy, autocratic power and nationality - that's what symbolized the Imperial black-yellow-white flag. Its significance is difficult to overestimate: it became an expression of the Russian Orthodox tradition, autocratic power and the staunchness of the common people.

Which flag: black, yellow, white or Petrine "tricolor" was used at the end of the XIX century?

Despite the fact that the new Russian flag, black and yellow-white, was created on the basis of the state stamped flowers, which carried a significant sacral load, it was perceived by society only as a government standard. Black-yellow colors in many Russian people were associated with Austria and the Habsburgs' house. But the "Petrovsky" white-blue-red tricolor was closer to the people and was considered civil, gradually acquiring the status of "philistine". Therefore, in the 70 - 80's. XIX in the Russian Empire was the place to be called the "duality" of the state symbol. At the same time, there were two banners: the white-yellow-black flag of Russia (government) and the national, white-blue-red tricolor. Often, the latter was preferred - he appeared on the streets of cities, installed near monuments and was used at solemn events.

"Petrovsky" tricolor - the national flag of the Russian Empire

During the coronation, Alexander III was surprised that the Kremlin itself and the solemn procession were decorated in official colors, and the capital was decorated with white-blue-red banners. Subsequently, the emperor signed a decree, according to which the "Peter's" tricolor acquired the official status and became the national flag of the Russian Empire. Since the entry into force of the decree, the flag "black, white, yellow strip" has become the banner of the reigning house of the Romanovs. Emperor Nicholas II by his decree of 1896 consolidated the position of the white-blue-red banner as the only state one.

Return of the black-yellow-white flag

Approximation of an important date - the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, as well as the bourgeois-democratic revolution, led to a turn in the policy concerning national colors. Adherents of monarchical foundations wished to return the flag "black, yellow, white strip", which for them acted as a symbol of protection of the Russian Empire from the coming dramatic events. In 1914, an attempt was made to combine two flags - a "Petrovsky" tricolor and a black-and-white-yellow "imperme". As a result, a new banner appeared, in which colors were present - blue, black, red, yellow, white. The flag looked like this: in the upper corner of the white-blue-red rectangular canvas was a square of yellow color. In it was painted a black two-headed eagle. This combination was to express the unity of the people and power, as well as patriotism and faith in victory. Nevertheless, such an eclectic flag did not take root and did not become national. He served as an official state symbol for a short time - until 1917. The subsequent abdication of Nicholas II, and then the February Revolution, put an end to the introduction of imperial symbols.

Red flag of the USSR

After the October Revolution, the state flag acquired a new look: it was a simple red cloth of rectangular shape with no inscriptions and any emblems. It became a symbol of Freedom and marked the advent of a new era in the life of the country. On April 8, 1918, at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars , a proposal was made to approve, as an official red flag with the letters "PPSS." Denoting the famous motto, which called for the unification of the proletarians of all countries. Further, in April 1918, the red flag with the inscription "The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic" was recognized as the flag of the state. Since the reunification of the RSFSR with the BSSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Transcaucasian Federation in the USSR, the flag was a scarlet cloth of a rectangular shape. It depicted in the upper corner a sickle and a hammer of golden color, and above them a five-pointed star of red color, with a gold border.

Using a white-blue-red flag

From 1923 to 1991. The official flag was recognized as such. Nevertheless, the "Peter's" tricolor continued to be used in some cases.

During the Great Patriotic War, he, together with the St. Andrew's flag, served some anti-Soviet formations. For example, the Russian Liberation Army under the leadership of Lieutenant-General AA Vlasov used a slightly modified Andreevsky flag with a red stripe on the edge. Note that the use of Russian national symbols was common in the collaborative formations of the Third Reich. Later in the 70's. White-blue-red colors were used in the anti-communist organization - VSHSON. In 1987, the "Petrovsky" tricolor began to be used by various patriotic groups, for example, the society "Pamyat". In 1989, the mass democratic movement adopted the tricolor as its official symbol. At the same time, monarchists and followers of conservative movements began to re-use the black and yellow-white flag of Imperial Russia. In 1989, the Patriotic Association "Russian flag" issued a proposal to abolish the red flag and again make the official white-blue-red banner. The Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decided (22.08.91g.) To recognize the white-blue-red tricolor as the official symbol of the state. On November 1, 1991, it was adopted as the state flag of the RSFSR.

The symbolic meaning of the white, blue and red colors of the modern Russian flag

Nowadays there are several interpretations of the colors of the Russian flag. Since ancient times, white denoted frankness and nobility, blue - honesty, chastity, fidelity and impeccability, and red - love, generosity, courage and courage. Another common interpretation was the correlation of flowers with the historical territories of Russia. So, the white person contacted White, the blue one - the Small one, and the red one - the Great Russia, symbolizing the unification of the three peoples - the Little Russians, the Great Russians and the Belarusians. There were other interpretations of color symbolism. For example, white color was considered a symbol of Freedom, red - the state, and blue - symbolized the Virgin. Sometimes, the colors of the "Petrine" tricolor were interpreted as a triune unity of the tsarist authorities, the Orthodox faith and the Russian people.

Instead of concluding

So, in this article, we looked at the black-yellow-white flag: whose it was, when it arose, and what it represented. We learned how the Russian banners changed over time and what they represented. We described not only the "Peter's" banner, but also the red flag of the USSR. And, of course, they told when the white-blue-red tricolor was adopted as the main state symbol of the Russian Federation.