Educational event at Presidential Library dedicated to State Flag of Russian Federation

On 21 August 2025, an educational event dedicated to the history of the Russian flag was held at the Presidential Library. Employees of the Reserve Centre in Moscow and the library's branch in Tyumen joined the Presidential Library on Senate Square in St. Petersburg via video conference.

On behalf of Yuri Nosov, Director General of the Presidential Library, Igor Solonko, Director of the Department of Educational Work, welcomed the attendees.

Sergey Kulikov, candidate of historical sciences and senior researcher at the Department of Modern Russian History at the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the origins of the words "sign" and "banner," as well as the history of the Russian tricolour.

The Russian national flag is a symbol not only of Russian statehood, but also of its history. Initially, the Russian national flag, as in other countries, was the flag of the sovereign – the grand duke and tsar. The close relationship between the Russian state and the Orthodox Church determined the themes depicted on the flags, with the image of Christ Not Made by Hands being particularly popular, hence the word "znamenie" (sign) giving rise to the word "znamya" (banner). Flags were originally perceived as signs indicating the presence of divine power, blessing, or as a symbol of unity around faith.

National flags in the modern sense of the word appeared in Europe as a result of the development of the merchant fleet, and it is no coincidence that in the late 1660s, a white-blue-red flag with a golden double-headed eagle was raised by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on the ship "Orel".

In 1699, Peter I personally designated and approved this colour scheme, and from that time onwards, Peter's tricolour was considered the merchant flag of Russia. In 1742, in connection with the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna, a state banner was added to the traditional regalia (crown, sceptre and orb) – a yellow cloth with a black double-headed eagle. The black, yellow and white cloth competed with the white, blue and red one and was called the national coat of arms flag. In 1858, Alexander II approved it as the state national flag. However, in 1883, Alexander III recognised the white, blue and red cloth as such, although he did not abolish the black, yellow and white one. In 1896, Nicholas II confirmed the status of the first flag as the national flag, which it remained until 1917. After the 1917 Revolution, it was replaced by the Soviet flag, and in 1991, the tricolour was restored as the state flag.

The Presidential Library portal's collection entitled State Authority contains materials describing the characteristics of state power in Russia during different historical periods. These include archival documents, popular science and educational publications, analytical materials, photo and film chronicles, audio and video recordings, and documentary films. A separate section of the collection is dedicated to the national flag.