CIRCA - 1696 🇷🇺 - horizontal tricolor of white (top), blue (middle) & red (bottom) equal stripes
HISTORY: The modern tricolor, adopted in 1993, is a revival of civil ensign of the 17c Tsardom, called Peter the Great's tricolor;
(a merchant marine flag - the Imperial flag of the time used the Byzantine Double-Headed Eagle🔍 emblem.)
The colors had already been used a decade earlier on Russian ships, (influenced by Dutch🔍 naval
flags,) but were re-arranged as white- blue🔍-red rather than the typical red-white-blue. Peter's
tricolor became the national flag from 1896 until the 1918 Bolshevik Revolution.
Kept alive by anti-communist it re-gained prominence during the 'August Coup' of 1991 - only with
a lighter shade of blue than either the original or the current, post-USSR dissolution, variant.
VEXILLOLOGY:* Emphasizing martial duty & Orthodox Christian piety, the colors reflect virtues the Tsars thought essential to
imperial identity, but also picked up alternative theological significance;
The WHITE Stripe represents freedom & independence, plus nobility, frankness, innocence, purity & the moral uprightness of the Russian people in their FAITH.
The BLUE Stripe stands for faithfulness, honesty, impeccability & chastity, often linked to loyalty, specifically toward the state & in devotion to the Virgin Mary (considered Russia's protector) Theologically it's associated with HOPE.
The RED Stripe symbolizes the sovereignty of the Russian state, courage, generosity & evokes the valor (+🩸 blood) of the homeland's defenders. with the added Christian interpretation as LOVE.