The Evolution of the Russian Flag, 1668 to 1991

1668
A white-blue-red flag is raised on the first Russian warship, the Oryol (“Eagle”), by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. It served as a naval flag, but did not yet have the status of a state flag.

1693
Peter I raises the white-blue-red tricolour for the first time on his ship at Arkhangelsk. From this time it becomes fixed to the Russian fleet.

1705
Decree of Peter I: the white-blue-red flag becomes mandatory on all Russian merchant vessels.

1712
The Saint Andrew's flag is introduced for the navy, replacing the tricolour on warships.

1858
By decree of Alexander II, the black-yellow-white (imperial) flag is approved.

1883
Alexander III permits the white-blue-red tricolour to be used once more alongside the imperial flag.

1918
After the revolution the tricolour is abolished. The red flag of the RSFSR is introduced, with the golden letters “RSFSR” in the upper left corner.

1954
A new RSFSR flag is approved: a red cloth with a light blue stripe by the hoist and a golden hammer and sickle with a star.

1991
After the August coup, the white-blue-red tricolour is restored as the state flag of the RSFSR, and subsequently of the Russian Federation.

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

The Evolution of the Russian Flag, 1668 to 1991

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s