Russian flag
The flag of Russia at the time of its appearance did not wear absolutely any symbols, therefore the colors of the cloth had no meaning. It should be noted that until the 17th century, Russia did not have a state flag at all. It was introduced only during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676) with the birth of the Russian fleet. It was in 1668, according to the project of the Dutch engineer David Butler, that the first Russian warship was built under the name «Eagle», therefore the question arose as to how to raise the flag on the ship, as was customary in Western countries. The king inquired about the flag in the homeland of Butler - the Netherlands. Then the flag of this country was adopted according to the version of 1630 and consisted of three horizontal stripes of the same width from top to bottom: red, white and blue. Then the tsar ordered the corresponding fabrics for the Russian flag, but the order of the arrangement of the colors on the panel was changed: white on top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom.
Peter I continued the tradition of his father, using this particular «the flag of the Tsar of Moscow» for 30 years. In 1712, a decree was passed, under which the ordering warships began to fly under the flag of St. Andrew the First-Called, so the old flag was hoisted only on civilian ships. At this time, the colors of the flag acquired symbolism, although they were not officially approved. So, white symbolized freedom, blue paid tribute to the Mother of God, and red - the strength of the Russian state.
In the middle of the 19th century, more precisely in 1858, the flag was still approved, but not the classic tricolor. Then Emperor Alexander II was offered a different color of the flag, which corresponded to the heraldic colors of the Russian coat of arms, that is, black, yellow and white. However, the society drew an analogy of this flag with the Austrian one, so in 1883 Emperor Alexander III returned the classic tricolor again without changing the interpretation. And the black-yellow-white canvas became the dynastic flag of the Romanov family.
During the Soviet era, the flag became purple with a red star and a hammer and sickle, and the tricolor was used only as the flag of the Russian Federation. In 1954, a vertical blue stripe on the left was added to the flag of the USSR as a symbol of the conquest of the Soviet people of the air and sea elements. And only after the coup in 1991, the white-blue-red tricolor was returned again. To date, its colors of the Russian flag have no official interpretation..
