List of Russian flags

The nation of Russia has designed and used various flags throughout history. Listed in this article are flags — federal, administrative, military, etc. — used between the time of the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721), Russian Empire (1721–1917) and today's Russian Federation (1991–present day). Also included are flags from the USSR (1922–1991), a country that existed as a federal union of 15 distinct national republics, including the Russian SFSR (1917–1991).

Flags of the Russian Federation

State flag

Main article: Flag of Russia

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1991–1993	State flag	Flag of the Russian Federation from 12 December 1991 to 11 December 1993. Still included in the State Heraldic Register.
	1993–present		Proportion changed from 1:2 to 2:3. First, the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation", adopted on December 11, 1993, then Constitutional law "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation" adopted on 25 December 2000.

Presidential flags

Standard	Date	Use	Description
	1994–present	Presidential Standard	Current Presidential Standard of the Russian Federation.
	1994–present	Flag of the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

Military flags

See also: List of Russian navy flags

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, for a brief time, many Soviet era flags were still in use until new designs replaced them in the early 2000s. The new flags of the Russian Armed Forces are heavily inspired by the regimental banners and flags of the late Imperial Russian Army and Navy.

Flags of service branches

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2003–present	Flag of the Ministry of Defence
	2004–present	Flag of the Ground Forces
	2000–present	Flag of the Navy	In 1992, the ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy was revived and replaced the Soviet era Naval Flag, however the new design used a lighter shade of blue, rather than the traditional dark blue. On December 29, 2000, the flag was changed to its original historical appearance with dark blue.
	2015–present	Flag of the Aerospace Forces
	2004–present	Flag of the Airborne Forces	A bicolour of horizontal stripes, blue and green defaced with the Russian Airborne Forces emblem.
	2004–present	Flag of the Strategic Missile Forces

Flags of the Ground Forces

Flags of the arms of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2005–	Flag of the Engineer Troops
	2005–	Flag of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops
	2006–	Flag of the Missile Troops and Artillery
	2007–	Flag of the Air Defence Troops of the Ground Forces	Not to be confused with the Air Defence Troops of the Aerospace Forces.
	2007–	Flag of the Communication Troops
	2005–	Flag of the Main Directorate of the General Staff
	2007–	Flag of the Electronic Warfare Troops
	2007–	Flag of the Railway Troops
	?–	Flag of the Special Operations Forces

Flags of the Aerospace Forces

The Aerospace Forces are a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, it has three arms, the Russian Air Force, the Air Defense Forces, and the Russian Space Forces. The Air Defense Forces does not have a flag.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2004–	Flag of the Air Force
	2015–	Flag of the Space Forces	Light blue field with the Russian Space Forces emblem (Space Forces Circumflex).

Flags of the Rear of the Armed Forces

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2004–2009	Flag of the Rear of the Armed Forces
	2010–	Flag of the Logistical Support of the Russian Armed Forces

Military district flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2016–2024	Flag of Western Military District
	2016–	Flag of Southern Military District
	2016–	Flag of Central Military District
	2016–	Flag of Eastern Military District

Banners of the Armed Forces

Each branch of the Armed Forces has a representative banner, one for the Ground Forces, the Aerospace Forces, the Navy, and one to represent the entire Armed Forces as a whole.

Obverse (Front)	Reverse (Back)	Date	Use	Description
		2000–2003	Banner of the Armed Forces	The first banner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was introduced on 8 December 2000, later confirmed by Federation Council on 20 December and signed by Vladimir Putin on 29 December. It was a plain red field, it symbolized the traditional red color of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.
		2003–		The present banner of the Armed Forces of Russian Federation is introduced under a resolution by State Duma in June 2003. This banner consists of two double-headed eagles, on the obverse side is the coat of arms of the Russian Federation, and on the reverse side is the middle emblem of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The banner follows the principles and format of historically older Russian military flags that were last used prior to the Russian Revolution in 1917. It also contains four stars in each corner of the banner to symbolize the heritage of the Soviet Armed Forces. The reverse side also contains two pieces of text written in old style Slavic typeface, the top side of the banner contains the inscription "Fatherland" ("Отечество") and on the bottom side the inscription reads "Duty [and] Honor" ("Долг Честь").[1]
		2002–	Banner of the Ground Forces	The banner of the Russian Ground Forces was introduced by decree No. 141 on February 4, 2002, by Vladimir Putin. It is similar to the above banner, but doesn't have stars and inscriptions, on the reverse side is the middle emblem of the Russian Ground Forces.
		2002–	Banner of the Air Force/Aerospace Forces	The banner of the Russian Air Forces was introduced by decree No. 141 on February 4, 2002, by Vladimir Putin.[2] It became the banner of the newly created Aerospace Forces branch, which saw the merger between the Russian Air Forces and the Air Defence Forces on August 1, 2015.
		2000–	Banner of the Navy	The ensign of the Russian Navy is used as the banner of the Russian Navy. On December 29, 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law making the naval ensign of the Russian navy the official banner of the Russian Navy.[3]

Victory Banner

The Victory Banner was a historical banner raised atop of the Reichstag building in Berlin, by the Red Army, on May 1, 1945. It signified the victory over Nazi Germany, and served as the main symbol of victory of the Soviet people. It was amended in Russian law in 1996, but with a new design to distance the new Russian state from any usage of Communist iconography. In 2007, following pressure from Red Army veterans, the original Victory Banner design replaced the 1996 variant, and has since then served its usage in virtually every single Victory Day parade held across Russia.

Banner	Date	Use	Description
	1996–2007	Symbol of Victory Banner	The Symbol of Victory Banner was an alternative to using the historic Victory Banner, which contained the hammer and sickle.
	2007–	Banner of Victory	The Banner of Victory raised on the Reichstag in 1945. Replicas of the Victory Banner can be used alongside the national flag on Victory Day.

Command Standards

Standard	Date	Use	Description
	2003–	Standard of the Minister of Defence
	?–	Standard of the Chief of the General Staff
	?–	Standard of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces
	?–	Standard of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy
	2015–	Standard of the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces
	?–	Standard of the Commander of the Air Force – Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces
	?–	Standard of the Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces
	?–	Standard of the Commander of the Space Forces
	?–	Standard of the Commander of the Airborne Forces

Paramilitary flags

This section covers flags of the various government paramilitary organizations which are not part of the Russian military, but are structured similarly by ranking system, uniforms, and are equipped with both light and heavy arms.

Flags of non-military security forces

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1992–	Flag of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
	1992–	Departmental flag of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
	2003–	Flag of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service
	2005–	Flag of the Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation
	2008–	Ensign of the Coast Guard	A blue and white Saltire on a light green background.
	2019–	Ensign of the National Guard Naval Service Corps	A blue and white Saltire on a chestnut background.
	1994–	Flag of the Federal Customs Service	A white Saltire on a dark green background.
	2001–	Flag of the Courier Service
	2005–	Flag of Federal Penitentiary Service
	?–	Flag of the Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President
	2008–	Flag of the Office of the Prosecutor General
	?–	Flag of the Investigative Committee
	2006–	Flag of Federal Service of Bailiffs
	?–	Flag of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
	?–
	2007–2016	Flag of Federal Migration Service
	2000–2016	Flag of the Federal Service for Special Construction
	?–	Flag of the State Automobile Inspectorate

Flags of special services

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2001–2003	Flag of Federal Agency of the Governmental Communication and the Information at the President
	2002–	Flag of the Federal Protective Service
	2010–	Flag of the Federal Security Service
	2008–	Flag of Director of the Federal Security Service
	2009–	Flag of Foreign Intelligence Service
	2015–2016	Flag of the Internal Troops
	2016–	Flag of National Guard Forces Command
	2016–	Flag of the National Guard

Pennants

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2011–	Pennant of the Ministry of Health
	2009–	Pennant of the Federal Agency for Fishery
	2009–	Pennant of the Chief of the Federal Agency for Fishery

Historical flags of Russia

Civil ensign and national flag

Prior to the creation of the first official flag of Russia in 1858, several merchant flags were used to represent Russia, the most notable being the White, Blue, and Red tricolor devised by Tsar Peter the Great. The historical State Flags of Russia were signed by decree to officially represent the country as a whole. The Black, Yellow, and White tricolor became the first official flag of Russia in 1858, with previous flags being de facto unofficial flags of Russia.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1668–1693	Civil ensign of the Tsardom of Russia	Ensign of the Oryol ship.
	1696–1721		Peter the Great's tricolour was the merchant flag of the Russian Empire. However, the flags used by the Russian Army were regimental flags with the Double-Headed Eagle, the official Imperial symbol, in the centre. The Imperial Standard was the black Double-Headed Eagle displayed on a golden banner, which represented the Empire and the Emperor, the absolute ruler of Russia.[4] When the black-yellow-white flag was in use between 1858 and 1896, the white-blue-red flag was still used as a merchant ensign.[4]
	1721–1896	Civil ensign of the Russian Empire
	1858–1896	State flag of the Russian Empire	On 11 June 1858, by decree of Alexander II, the heraldic colors of the empire were approved for flags, banners and other items (draperies, rosettes, etc.). It became the first State flag of Russia in 1865. The white-blue-red flag was reintroduced in 1883 but the black-yellow-white remained in use until it was fully replaced in all circumstances in 1896.[5][6][7][8][9]
	1896–1917		On 28 April 1883, Alexander III amended the 1858 decree "on flags for decorating buildings on solemn occasions" to be replaced exclusively with the white-blue-red colours. This meant that the white-blue-red flag was now to be used on land in addition to at seas. It fully replaced the black-yellow-white flag when it became the only official National flag in time for the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896.
	1917–1918	National flag of the Russian Republic	The Russian Provisional Government and the Russian Republic kept using the same flag after the monarchy was overthrown in the February Revolution. During the Russian Civil War, it was also used by the Russian State in 1918–1920 and the White Guards overall until their defeat in 1923.
	1918–1920	National flag of the Russian State
	1918–1937	State flag of the Russian SFSR	The first flag of the RSFSR was established by decree on 13 April 1918. However the law never provided an official drawing or depiction. Instead, a simple red flag was commonly used. The description of the decree stated that the "flag of the Russian Republic is set on a red banner with the inscription: Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Russian: Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика)." The decree however did not specify the exact shade of red used on the flag, nor the exact placement and size of the inscription, the ratio of the flag itself and the colour and font of the words. There is no evidence to suggest such a flag was ever produced and used. Later that year, on 17 June 1918, a decree was established on the new state flag of the RSFSR. This time, the law provided an official image for the flag. The ratio of the flag was 1:2, located in the upper left corner, the letters "R.S.F.S.R" appeared in old Slavonic font and were surrounded by a golden border.
	1937–1954		Red banner with stylized "RSFSR" abbreviation in gold Cyrillic letters in the honour canton.
	1954–1991		The flag of the Soviet Union with a blue band at the hoist.
	1991		Used by protesters during the August Coup and proclaimed national flag on 22 August 1991, then formally adopted as the state flag on 1 November.

Flag of the Soviet Union

Main article: Flag of the Soviet Union

See also: Flags of the Soviet Republics

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1922–1923	State flag of the Soviet Union	The first flag of the Soviet Union is a red flag with the state emblem in the center and fimbriated in white.
	1923–1924		The second flag of the Soviet Union with the golden fimbriated canton, adopted shortly after the end of the Russian Civil War.
	1924–1936		The third flag of the Soviet Union.
	1936–1955		The fourth flag of the Soviet Union, this design was prominently used during the Second World War.
	1955–1991		The fifth and final flag of the Soviet Union.

Personal flags

Monarch' flags

Standard	Date	Use	Description
	c. 1462	Flag of the Grand Prince of Moscow	Adopted under Ivan the Great.
	1693–1703	Flag of the Tsar of Russia	Adopted under the rule of Peter the Great.[10][11]
	1703–1742	Imperial Standard
	1742–1799; 1801–1828		Russian Imperial Standard used at palaces.[10]
	1799–1801		Russian Imperial Standard introduced by Paul I. This flag is depicted on many documents of that era.[12]
	c. 1835		In the album of flags of 1835, an Imperial Standard used at palaces was reported.[10]
	1858–1917		Standard of the Emperor of Russia on land, adopted in 1858.[10][11]

Other Royal flags

Standard	Date	Use	Description
	c. 1848	Standard of the Empress of Russia
	?–1917
	?–1917	Standard of the Tsesarevich of Russia
	?–1917	Standard of the Empress Princes of Russia
	?–1917	Standard of the Grand Duke of Russia
	?–1917	Standard of the Grand Duchess of Russia
	?–1917	Ensign of the Tsesarevich of Russia
	?–1917	Ensign of the Grand Duke of Russia
	1862–1870	Flag of the Grand Duke of the Caucasus
	1870–1917

Flag of the Supreme Ruler

Standard	Date	Use	Description
	1919–1920	Flag of the Supreme Ruler of the Russian State	Used by Admiral Alexander Kolchak during the Russian Civil War.

Presidential standard

Standard	Date	Use	Description
	1991	Presidential standard of the Russian SFSR	Unofficial standard of the president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, used during the inauguration of Boris Yeltsin on 10 July 1991.[13][14] A law establishing the official standard for the President of Russia was not created until 1994, at the time of Yeltsin's first inauguration, an impromptu standard was created solely for the event, but without any official decree or design.

Banners

Banner	Date	Use	Description
	1380	Banner of Dmitry Donskoy at the Battle of Kulikovo	Calvary Cross on a Red Pennant.
	1380	Flag of the Rus' Army at Kulikovo.	Mandylion, an image of Christ portrayed on a red flag, with the Inscriptions IC XC NIKA (Christ will win) on all corners. Nowadays used as a "Russian Orthodox flag".
	c. 1385	Banner of the Novgorod Republic	Banner used by the Novgorod Republic, depicting a white castle on a red field.
	1552	Banner of the Most Merciful Savior	Banner used by Ivan IV during the Siege of Kazan.
	1610s	Banner of Dmitry Pozharsky	Battle banner of the Second Volunteer Army depicting appearance of Archangel Michael to Joshua.
	1696	Armorial Banner of Peter the Great	The armorial banner of Peter the Great was created in 1696. Made from red taffeta with a white border, the banner depicted a golden eagle hovering over the sea. On the chest of the eagle in the circle is the Savior, next to the Holy Spirit and the holy apostles Peter and Paul. The banner was likely made for the second Azov campaign.

Historical pennants

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	?–1697	Masthead pennant of the Tsardom of Russia
	c. 1881	Pennant of the Ministry of Railways
	?–1917	Pennant of the Emperor of Russia
	?–1917	Pennant of the Empress of Russia
	?–1917	Pennant of the Tsesarevich of Russia
	?–1917	Pennant of the Tsesarevna of Russia
	?–1917	Pennant of the Grand Duke of Russia
	?–1917	Pennant of the Grand Duchess of Russia
	?–1917	Pennant of the Admiral General of Royal blood
	1919–1920	Pennant of the Supreme Ruler of the Russian State

Proposed flags

Flag	Submitted	Planned use	Description
	1914	National flag of the Russian Empire	A tricolour of horizontal stripes, white, blue and red, with a yellow canton with the coat of arms. Introduced as a flag for private use on the outbreak of World War I on 8 September 1914 with introduction as a national flag planned for after the war, hence never officially adopted.[15]
	1948, 1949	State flag of the Russian SFSR	A proposal for the state flag of the RSFSR was created by artist Alexey Kokorekin [ru]. It added white and blue horizontal stripes at the bottom, both two stripes took 1⁄6 of the flag's height.
	c. 1949	State flag of the Russian SFSR	Another proposal with the traditional Russian tricolour at the bottom.
	c. 1950	State flag of the Russian SFSR	Another proposal for the state flag of the RSFSR was created by Mikhail Rodionov. It consisted of a traditional tricolour flag and a hammer and a sickle in the middle of the flag. Because of his proposal, he was accused of anti-Sovietism in 1950, at the Leningrad affair case.[16]
	1994; 1997	State flag of the Russian Federation	Project flags of Russia after the dissolution of the USSR with communist symbols slightly modified, submitted multiple times in the State Duma by Communist and Agrarian deputies.[17][18][19]
	2007	Symbol of Victory Banner	As described in a bill from 2007 vetoed by Vladimir Putin's presidential decree.[20] The flag was used on public display during celebrations of the Victory Day and other events related to past wars during the first decade of the 2000s, along with the state flag.
	2011	State flag of the Russian Federation	On April 18, Vladimir Zhirinovsky with the LDPR party proposed to the State Duma the adoption of the Russian Imperial (Romanov's) flag as the official flag of Russia.[21]
	2022	State flag of the Russian Federation	On April 19, the CPRF proposed to the State Duma the adoption of the Soviet flag as the official flag of Russia.[22]

Flags of Russian cities

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2003–	Flag of Abakan	Two red and blue horizontal stripes and a white background with the emblem to the hoist.
	2005–	Flag of Anadyr
	1997–	Flag of Astrakhan	A crown above sword on a white background with a blue wave pattern at the bottom.
	2021–	Flag of Barnaul	The arms of the city of Barnaul on a blue background.
	1999–	Flag of Belgorod	Two horizontal stripes: top - blue and bottom - white. In the roof there is an image of the figures of the coat of arms of the city.
	1998–	Flag of Birobidzhan
	1998–	Flag of Blagoveshchensk
	2016–	Flag of Bryansk
	2001–	Flag of Cheboksary
	2002–	Flag of Chelyabinsk	A Bactrian camel in front of a wall on a green and yellow background.
	2002–	Flag of Cherepovets	A blue pall on a golden background.
	2001–	Flag of Cherkessk
	2006–	Flag of Chita
	2004–	Flag of Donetsk, Ukraine
	2004–	Flag of Elista
	1997–	Flag of Gorno-Altaysk
	2010–	Flag of Grozny
	1996–	Flag of Irkutsk	A black "Babr" or siberian tiger holding a squirrel in its mouth standing on a grassy island on a white and blue background
	2003–	Flag of Ivanovo	A woman using a spindle on an all blue background.
	2000–	Flag of Izhevsk	A white and blue bicolor with a pair of leaves, an arrow, and what appears to be a pair of wire cutters.
	1996–	Flag of Kaliningrad	A coat of arms in front of a ship on an all blue background.
	2000–	Flag of Kaluga
	2004–	Flag of Kazan	A dragon walking on a mostly white background with a thin green line at the bottom.
	2019–	Flag of Kemerovo
	1999–	Flag of Kerch
	2007–	Flag of Khabarovsk
	2002–	Flag of Khanty-Mansiysk
	2010–	Flag of Kirov	A hand holding a bow beneath a cross on an all yellow background.
	2002–	Flag of Kostroma
	2006–	Flag of Krasnodar
	1995–	Flag of Krasnoyarsk
	2001–	Flag of Kurgan
	2000–	Flag of Kursk	A sky blue flag with a blue diagonal band charged with birds.
	2016–	Flag of Kyzyl
	2005–	Flag of Lipetsk	A linden tree depicted on a green hill on a yellow background.
	1995–	Flag of Lugansk, Ukraine
	1999–	Flag of Magadan
	2010–	Flag of Magas
	2004–	Flag of Magnitogorsk	A black triangle on a silver-colored background.
	2006–	Flag of Makhachkala
	1994–	Flag of Mariupol, Ukraine
	2008–	Flag of Maykop
	1995–	Flag of Moscow	Saint George with a lance riding on a silver horse stabbing a zilant on a dark red background.
	2011–	Flag of Nalchik
	2001–	Flag of Naryan-Mar
	2016–	Flag of Nazran
	2006–	Flag of Nizhny Novgorod	A bright red deer on a white-colored background.
	2006–	Flag of Nizhny Tagil	The coat of arm of Nizhny Tagil on a Maroon Background.
	?-	Flag of Nolinsk	A swan on an all blue background
	2000–	Flag of Norilsk	A polar bear holding a key on a vertically divided blue and red background.
	2018–	Flag of Novokuznetsk
	1993–	Flag of Novosibirsk
	2014–	Flag of Omsk
	2012–	Flag of Orenburg
	1998–	Flag of Oryol	The coat of arms of the city on a red background and a light blue stripe with the hammer and sickle in the canton
	2003–	Flag of Ozyorsk
	2004–	Flag of Penza
	1998–	Flag of Perm	A bear carrying a book beneath a cross on an all red background.
	2015–	Flag of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
	2001–	Flag of Petrozavodsk
	2010–	Flag of Pskov
	1998–	Flag of Rostov-on-Don
	2001–	Flag of Ryazan	A crown sitting above and to the left of a man holding a sword on an all yellow background.
	1992–	Flag of Saint Petersburg	An anchor and a hook crossing each other with a scepter in the intersection of the two, all on a red background.
	1998–	Flag of Salekhard
	2015–	Flag of Samara	A coat of arms above the name of the city in front of a horizontally divided red white and blue background.
	2011–	Flag of Saransk
	1997–	Flag of Saratov	A coat of arms in front of a horizontally divided blue and white background.
	2006–	Flag of Sergiyev Posad	The walls of a city with two axes floating above it on a blue background.
	2000–	Flag of Sevastopol, Ukraine
	2006–	Flag of Simferopol, Ukraine
	2001–	Flag of Smolensk
	2006–	Flag of Sochi
	2014–	Flag of Stavropol
	2005–	Flag of Surgut
	2004–	Flag of Suzdal	A bird wearing a crown on a horizontally divided blue and red background.
	2009–	Flag of Syktyvkar
	2008–	Flag of Tambov
	2007–	Flag of Tobolsk
	2005–[23]	Flag of Tolyatti
	2019–	Flag of Tomsk	A rearing horse on a dark green background.
	2001–	Flag of Tula
	1999–	Flag of Tver
	2008–	Flag of Tyumen
	2007–	Flag of Ufa
	2005–	Flag of Ulan-Ude
	2003–	Flag of Ulyanovsk	A vertical triband of blue, white, and blue, with a golden crown in the middle of the white stripe.
	2010–	Flag of Veliky Novgorod
	1996–	Flag of Vladimir	A lion holding a cross and wearing a crown on an all red background.
	2016–	Flag of Vladivostok	The coat of arms of the city in front of a blue saltire on a red background.
	1999–	Flag of Volgograd	The coat of arms of the city on a red background.
	2003–	Flag of Vologda	God reaching out from the clouds holding a sword and cruciger on a red background.
	2008–	Flag of Voronezh
	1996–	Flag of Yakutsk
	1996–	Flag of Yaroslavl	The arms of the city on a blue background.
	2008–	Flag of Yekaterinburg	A furnace and well on a horizontally divided green, yellow and blue background.
	2011–	Flag of Yoshkar-Ola
	2005–	Flag of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
	2000-	Flag of Zlatoust	A yellow pegasus above a yellow stripe on an all red background.

See also

• Russia portal

• Flags of the federal subjects of Russia
  • List of Sakha flags
• Flags used in Russian controlled areas of Ukraine