Russia celebrates National Flag Day today

For the first time in modern history, the national flag of the Russian Federation was raised above the White House in Moscow on August 22, 1991, when the extraordinary session of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decided to consider the historical white-blue-red flag as the official national flag of Russia. Later, in November, the flag was approved as a state symbol by the Congress of People’s Deputies, which passed the law of the RSFSR of November 1, 1991 On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the RSFSR.
The flag of the Russian Federation is the official state symbol, along with the Coat of Arms and the Anthem of the Russian Federation. The National Flag Day Flag has been established in Russia by the Decree of the President of Russia No. 1714 of August 20, 1994. On that day, the Extraordinary Session of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a decree, which stated that from now on, the official national flag of the Russian Federation “the cloth of... white, azure and scarlet stripes”.
Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia, noted in his congratulations on National Flag Day, "Today is the Day of the State Flag of the Russian Federation. Our flag is the symbol of freedom and independence – it unites the people who build, love and defend their native country and associate their present and future with it.”
The tricolour flag was first used as a flag by Peter the Great who, in 1705, issued a decree according to which “all merchant ships” should raise a white, blue and red cloth to identify the ship. Peter himself drew the pattern and determined the order of horizontal stripes.
The tricolour became the official flag of the Russian Empire only in 1896, when on the eve of the coronation of Nicholas II the Ministry of Justice determined that the white, blue and red colour was to be “definitely considered the national colour, and no other.”
According to one of the versions, the flag’s colour white represents Freedom, blue represents the Mother of God who protects Russia and red represents Sovereignty.