In the navy, traditions are respected, old rituals are observed, and symbols are cherished. Everyone knows that the main flag is the St. Andrew's banner, which proudly fluttered on the masts and mainsail of the first imperial sailing ships of the Peter's fleet. However, not everyone knows that even then there were other naval flags that differed in function and informational focus. This situation is still valid today.
Peter the Great created, he also took care of its symbols. He drew the first naval flags himself and went through several options. The chosen version was based on the "oblique" St. Andrew's cross. It was this version, which became the eighth and last, which served until the October Revolution of 1917. Cross-overshadowed by St. Andrew the First-Called, Russian ships won many victories, and if they suffered defeat, then the glory of the heroism of the sailors survived generations and shines to this day.
The reason why this particular symbol was chosen has a profound meaning. The fact is that the first disciple of Christ, Andrew the First-Called, the brother of the Apostle Peter, is considered both the patron saint of sailors (he himself was a Galilean fisherman) and Holy Russia. In his wanderings, he visited, among many other cities, and Kiev, and Veliky Novgorod, and Volkhov, preaching the Christian faith. The Apostle Andrew was martyred on the cross, while the executioners crucified him not on a straight, but on an oblique cross (this is how the concept and name of this symbol arose).
The naval flag of Russia in the final Peter's version looked like a white cloth crossed out with a blue cross. This is how it is today.
In the first years after the revolution, the Bolsheviks did not attach much importance to naval power. During the Civil War, almost all the fronts were land, and when devastation came, there was simply no money to maintain complex equipment. The few ships of river and sea flotillas, which remained at the disposal of the new government, raised the leadership of the workers 'and peasants' army and comrade LD Trotsky with contempt for maritime traditions, heraldry, symbols, history and the like “ashes of the old world”.
In 1923, a former officer of the tsarist fleet, Ordynsky, nevertheless persuaded the Bolsheviks to adopt a special flag for ships, proposing a rather strange option - an almost complete copy of the Japanese banner with the sign of the Red Army in the center. This flag of the RSFSR fluttered on yards and flagpoles until 1935, then it had to be abandoned. Imperial Japan became a likely enemy, and from afar, the ships could be easily confused.
The decision on a new Red Navy pennant was taken by the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Even then, there was some continuity, white and blue colors appeared on it, borrowed from the St.
In 1950, it was slightly changed, reducing the relative size of the star. The flag has acquired a geometric balance, objectively it has become more beautiful. In this form, it existed until the collapse of the USSR and for another year, while there was confusion. In 1992, new (or rather, revived old) St.Andrew's naval flags were raised on all ships. the cross did not quite correspond to the historical tradition, but in general it was almost the same as under Peter the Great. Everything returned to normal.
The flags in the fleet are different, and their purpose is different. In addition to the usual stern Andreevsky banners on ships of the first and second ranks, the jack also rises, but only during anchorage at the berth. After going out to sea, the stern flag is raised on the mast or topmails (at the highest point). If a battle begins, the national flag is raised.
The charter also provides for pennants of naval commanders of various ranks. Naval flags, denoting the presence of commanders on board, are indicated by a red cloth, a quarter of which is occupied by a blue St. Andrew's cross on a white background. The colored field contains:
In addition, there are other colored flags depicting the coat of arms of the Russian Federation on a red background crossed with two crosses, St. Andrew's and a straight white one, or with two intersecting anchors on the same background. This means the presence of the Minister of Defense or the Chief of General Staff on the ship.
Information exchange, as in the past, can be carried out through visual symbols, including maritime signal flags. Of course, in the age of electronic means, they are used extremely rarely and, rather, serve as a symbol of the inviolability of naval traditions, and on holidays they decorate the ball-gray uniformity of ship camouflage with their multicolor, but if necessary, they can also perform their direct function. Sailors should be able to use them, and for this they need to study the reference books, which contain all the flag signals. These volumes consist of sections that contain decryptions of geographical names, names of ships, military ranks, and the like. Reference books are two-check and three-check, with the help of many combinations you can quickly report the situation and send orders. Negotiations with foreign ships are conducted through the International Code of Flag Signals.
In addition to pennants, meaning whole phrases, there have always been letter flags with which you can compose any message.
All are conventionally divided into ordinary and guards. A distinctive feature of the guard in Russia is the St. George ribbon, which is present in the unit's symbols. Naval flags, decorated with an orange and black stripe, indicate that a ship or a coastal base is a particularly illustrious unit. The sailors abandoned the initial idea that the ribbon should become a separate element of the banner so that it could not wrap around the flag-halyard, and now the St. George symbol is applied directly to the canvas in its lower part. Such a naval flag of Russia testifies to the special combat readiness and high class of both the ship itself and its crew, it obliges a lot.
During the Soviet era, each branch of the military had its own symbols. For example, the maritime border guards belonging to the USSR State Security Committee had their own flag, which was a compilation of the flag of the Navy in a reduced form on a green field. Now, after the adoption of a single model, the diversity has decreased, but unofficial symbols have appeared, created by the imagination of military personnel, and therefore, probably, they are even more loved and revered by them. One of them is the Marine Corps flag. In essence, this is the same St. Andrew's white canvas with a blue cross, but it is supplemented with a patch of this kind of troops (a golden anchor in a black circle), the inscription "Marine Corps" and the motto "Where we are, there is victory!"
The Marine Corps was created in Russia earlier than in many other countries (practically together with the navy), and during its existence has covered itself with unfading glory. In 1669, the Eagle command became its first unit, and in 1705 the first naval soldier's regiment was formed. It was November 27, and since then this day has been celebrated by all the Marines. They fought not only as naval paratroopers, participated in land operations, and during the Napoleonic invasion, and in other wars (Crimean, Russian-Turkish, First World War, Great Patriotic War). In the armed conflicts of recent decades, they also had a chance to fight, and the enemy knew that if the Marine Corps flag was raised, then the circumstances were very unfavorable for him and it would be best for him to retreat.
After a long hiatus, in February 2012, heraldic naval justice was restored. From the hands of the President of the Russian Federation V.V.Putin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Kuroyedov, received an updated naval flag of Russia. Now it soars over all the oceans.
It is connected with the construction of the first Russian warship "Eagle" in 1669. According to the surviving evidence for the "Eagle" in 1668, a flag was made consisting of white, blue and red colors (and the production of the flag required an equal amount of fabric of each color), the exact arrangement of the colors is not known, the flag was ordered to "write" Russian National emblem. There are several reconstructions of this flag. According to one of the reconstructions (by P.I.Belavenets), the Eagle flag was divided by a blue cross into 2 red and 2 white fields according to the Strelets pattern (similar flags are depicted on the engraving of Adrian Shkhonebek “The Siege of Azov in 1696” (about 1700). A similar flag, along with other variants, is depicted in one of the first books about the flags of the Dutchman Karl Alyard (1695). The date of publication of the book Alyard (1695) should not confuse the reader, at that time the books were printed for a very long time, and corrections and additions were made during the printing process In reality, this version of the flag could appear in the book no earlier than 1698.
Other historians believed that a flag of three horizontal stripes appeared on the Eagle already: white, blue and red. Probably, the first this idea was expressed by the historian of the fleet F.F. Veselago
Peter I, carried away by the idea of creating a Russian fleet, studied maritime affairs himself, he walked on a boat on Lake Pereyaslavskoye, Prosyan pond in Izmailovo. Today the boat of Peter I is kept in the Navy Museum. On the surviving engravings, the boat is depicted with the imperial standard on the mast and the flag of the admiral-general at the stern.
According to the historian P.I.Belavenets, on August 6, 1693 in Arkhangelsk, on an armed yacht "St. Peter", Peter I used a striped white-blue-red "Tsar of Moscow flag" with a golden double-headed eagle in the middle lane. In the book of flags by Karlus Alyard, this flag was described as follows:
"The flag of His Imperial Majesty of Moscow is divided into three, the upper stripe is white, the middle one is blue, the lower one is red. On the blue stripe, a gold one with a royal karuna is crowned with a double-headed eagle with a red stamp in its heart, with a silver St. George without a snake."
Now this flag is kept in the Maritime Museum of St. Petersburg. He got there from Arkhangelsk, where he stayed for many years, being donated by Peter I to the Archbishop of Arkhangelsk Athanasius.
Some historians are inclined to believe that the white-blue-red flag was borrowed by Peter from Holland (the Dutch flag is almost the same, only the order of the stripes is different). Maybe it is so. But, as we can see, the use of white, blue and red colors on the flag was recorded even during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter's father, long before the West European voyage of Peter Alexeevich. The "Dutch" version is also connected with the head of the "Eagle" construction, the Dutch captain O. Butler. He is credited with the idea of making the flag of the Russian ship modeled on the flags of his homeland.
In 1695, Peter I began a war with Turkey. This served as a powerful impetus for the creation of a military fleet. Many warships were built. Russian sailors entered the Black Sea, and then into the Baltic Sea.
In 1697, Peter I established a new model of the naval flag of Russia, which consisted of horizontal white, blue, red stripes. In October-November 1699, the first versions of the Andreev flag appeared. In 1699, when the ship "Fortress" sailed to Constantinople, Peter I, in instructions to the Russian envoy Emelyan Ukraintsev, drew a three-sheet flag with an oblique cross crossing it.
Peter I especially emphasized that the Andreev flag was chosen by him in honor of St. Andrew the First-Called "for the sake of the fact that Russia received holy baptism from this apostle." In addition, the Andreev flag, according to the thought of Peter I, showed that Russia has access to four seas. It is very likely that Peter's choice was influenced by the flag of Scotland he saw in Europe (blue with a white St. Andrew's cross). Saint Andrew was considered the patron saint of Scotland long before the introduction of his cult in Russia. The Scottish Order of St. Andrew is known. Peter copied the order and may have decided to transfer the St.Andrew's flag to Russian soil, only by changing its colors.
On engravings depicting ships of that time, one can see various options for transitional types of naval flags(some of them are probably true, some are most likely an erroneous reconstruction of the engraver). For example, in the engraving depicting the ship "Predistination", flags of 9 horizontal stripes are depicted on the bow, topmast and stern; white, blue and red (a similar practice was widespread in Holland). The frigate "Dumkart" is depicted with a "hybrid" flag - the St. Andrew's cross is framed above and below by stripes of national colors.
On the engraving depicting "Poltava", a white flag with the St. Andrew's cross, which does not reach the ends of the corners of the flag, flies at the stern of the ship, and the imperial standard on the topmast. However, the engraving "Poltava" raises certain criticism. The fact is that on the bow of the ship there is a red flag with the St. Andrew's cross in the canton, and at the stern there is a flag with the St. This practice is highly questionable. In the Russian navy, the jack (bow flag) was first repeated by the stern flag, and then a single jack was introduced. If there is a "colored" flag on the bow, then there must be one at the stern as well. Apparently the author of the engraving somewhat "approximated" the information he had.
The naval flag raised on a navy ship is the ship's Battle Banner. It symbolizes the state ownership and inviolability of the ship sailing under it, as well as the ship's readiness to protect the state interests of the Russian Federation on the sea and ocean borders. The naval flag is a symbol of military honor, valor and glory, serves as a reminder to each member of the ship's crew of heroic traditions and the sacred duty of defending the Fatherland.
The first Russian naval flag was the flag of the ship "Eagle", built in 1667-1669. Presumably, it could be either a cloth with a blue straight cross and two white and two red rectangles (roofs), or a cloth of three horizontal equal stripes - white, blue and red with a golden double-headed eagle in the center.
An engraving of 1700 by the Dutchman A. Shkhonebek about the capture of Azov in 1696 depicts flags with straight crosses.
After visiting Peter I as part of the Great British Embassy in March 1699 in the image and likeness of the Scottish Order of the Holy Apostle the First-Called, he established the first order in Russia - the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The main image in the badge of the order was an azure (blue) oblique cross with the image of the crucified Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (according to Christian tradition, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called was crucified in 70 AD in the Greek city of Patras on an oblique cross). Since the 9th century, the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was considered the patron saint of Scotland, from the 12th century the silver (white) oblique St.Andrew's cross was depicted on Scottish icons and seals, from the 16th century the flag of Scotland - the white St.Andrew's cross on a blue cloth - has been known.
Peter I in October 1699, in the draft of the decree to the envoy in Istanbul E.I. these bands.
From 1699 to 1712, Peter I drew several more projects of the flag, which were subsequently adopted in the Navy. The last version was described by Peter I: "The flag is white, across it there is a blue St. Andrew's cross, with which he christened Russia." In this form, the St. Andrew's flag existed in the Russian Navy until November 1917.
The USSR was formed in 1922. All symbols of the power of the Russian Empire had already been abolished for five years by that time. The new state needed to approve its symbols, including the flag of the USSR Navy. This took time, since the fighting did not stop for a long time.
During the history of the existence of the Soviet state, three sketches of the Navy were approved. Each of them had its own characteristics. The latter option lasted forty-two years.
In the Ship Charter, the flag of the USSR Navy was designated as the Battle Banner. He was a symbol of military honor, glory and valor. Its task was to remind the crew members of their duty, which was to defend the Soviet Motherland. Also, the flag served as a reminder of heroic traditions.
For the first time, the flag of the USSR Navy appeared in 1923. His sketch was developed by the captain of the first rank NI Ordynsky. He took the banner of the Japanese Navy as a basis.
Description:
In the same year, the flag was raised on military ships in honor of the fifth anniversary of the October Revolution. It was approved only in 1924.
There are archival photographs that show the destroyers "Kalinin", "Voikov" with flags raised on board, developed by N. I. Ordynsky.
The banner of 1923 existed for twelve years. The country's leadership began to think about changing it back in 1932. At this time, the Naval Forces of the Far East were created. Three years later, the Pacific Fleet was created from them.
The existing naval flag strongly resembled the symbol of the island state, which could cause problems. Therefore, in 1935, a new flag of the USSR Navy was approved, which lasted fifteen years.
Description:
The ratio of white to blue is five to one. The dimensions of the canvas are three to two.
By 1950, the flag of the USSR Navy (photo below) was slightly modified. This regulation was not recorded in the Code of Laws of the Union. The appearance was approved only in 1964.
Description:
The dimensions of the flag of the USSR Navy for 1950 differ significantly from the previous version. The ratio of width to length became one to one and a half. The size of the five-pointed star has changed, it is visually equal to the crossed hammer and sickle. The width of the blue part has become equal to one-sixth of the entire width of the flag.
This is exactly what the banner remained until 1992, when it was replaced by the modern symbol of the Russian Navy.
Explanation of symbols:
Recently, the original flags have become popular among the population. Demand gives rise to supply, which is why online stores appeared that manufacture and sell flags, as well as other paraphernalia of the USSR.
