Russian Armed Forces– our pride, strength and confidence in the present and future of the country. Airborne Forces, Air Force, Navy, Missile, Space, Border Troops, Navy and many others - they all have their own military symbols, their own flags.
 War flag- a symbol of patriotism and love for the Fatherland, a sign of courage and perseverance of the Defenders of the Fatherland.

Navy Flags

 Naval ensign- a sign that a warship (vessel) belongs to the armed forces of a given state. The stern naval ensign hoisted on a ship is its Banner, serving as a symbol of military honor, valor and glory, a reminder to every serviceman of the ship of his sacred duty to faithfully serve the Motherland.

Navy flags appeared in the Ancient world and were finally established in the 16th–18th centuries.

In Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. a military naval flag was introduced ( Navy flag) with an oblique blue St. Andrew's cross.

Navy flags and naval flags are in stock, otherwise they are produced within 3-5 business days.

Buy a Navy flag in St. Petersburg or have it made to order according to your sketch, write or call our office.
We will make the “Sputnik” Marine Corps flag or the Northern Fleet Marine Corps flag to order.

Flag of the Russian Air Force

Air Force flag approved in 1924 by the Red Army as the airfield flag of aviation detachments and formations.
On May 15, 1967 it became the official flag of the USSR Air Force.
On May 26, 2004, a new flag of the Russian Air Force was approved after the merger of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces.
The flag of the VKS (Russian Aerospace Forces) was approved in 2015 as a result of the merger of the Air Force and the Aerospace Defense Forces.

Air Force flag in St. Petersburg in stock and to order. Air Force flag wholesale in a short time.

Flag of the Russian Airborne Forces

The Airborne Forces emblem is the basis for the development of landing flags. The drawing of the emblem of the Airborne Forces - in the form of a parachute surrounded by two aircraft - is a symbol of all paratroopers. This is the work of Zinaida Ivanovna Bocharova.

Flag of the airborne troops divided into two unequal parts. The upper 2/3 of the panel is occupied by a large blue stripe, symbolizing the sky. The lower, 1/3 part of the flag is green, symbolizing the pure land. On the blue stripe there is an image of an open parachute and two planes - the personification of paratroopers.

· Flag of the USSR Airborne Forces since 1955.
· The official flag of the Russian Airborne Forces since June 14, 2004.
· Flag of paratroopers with the motto: “Nobody but us!” since 2005 (sketch of Guards Lt. Airborne Forces Ganina E.V.)

Flag of the Border Troops

In 1918, the Border Troops were founded to guard and protect water and land borders.
In 1999, by order of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation, the following flags were installed: Flag of the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia; Flag of the Russian Border Troops; Flag of the Russian Maritime Guard; Aviation flag of the FPS of Russia.

Border Troops Flags

Flag of the Ministry of Emergency Situations

"Flag of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief" is a rectangular panel of the colors of the State Flag of the Russian Federation. The width of the flag is 2/3 of its length.
In the top of the flag there is a blue square with a side equal to two stripes of the State Flag of the Russian Federation. In the center of the square there is a heraldic sign - the emblem of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the form of a vertically elongated white star with eight rays, in the center of which, in an orange circle, there is an equilateral blue triangle with a base below.

We print flags to order:

. small flags of the Ministry of Emergency Situations;
. Ministry of Emergency Situations flags on a stick;
. flag of the Ministry of Emergency Situations on a pole;

Military flags

Size of flags BC	Number of aircraft flags
	≥1 piece	≥10 pcs.	≥50 pcs.	≥100 pcs.	≥300 pcs.	≥1000 pcs.
flag BC 4*7 cm flag + stand with Velcro	60	25	20	20	20	18
flag BC 6*9 cm flag + suction cup with tube	70	40	33	30	30	28
flag BC 12*18 cm	50	40	33	29	25	20
flags BC 15*22 cm flags are dressed and attached to a tube	50	50	42	32	27	20

War flags

Size of aircraft flags	Number of aircraft flags
	≥1 piece	≥3 pcs.	≥5 pcs.	≥10 pcs.	≥50 pcs.
flag BC 40*60 cm	350	330	300	270	165
flags BC 70*105 cm	500	450	400	380	350
flags BC 90*135 cm	850	800	700	680	570

• Need a wall bracket for a flag, please follow the link: .
• You can choose a pole for the flag of the Armed Forces here:.

On December 1 (11), 1699, Tsar Peter I Alekseevich established the St. Andrew's flag as the official flag of the Russian Navy. The main ship banner of the Russian Navy is a white, rectangular panel, crossed diagonally from corner to corner by two blue stripes that form an oblique cross. The tsar explained his choice by the fact that it was from Apostle Andrew the First-Called that Rus' first received holy baptism, and he became its heavenly patron, and thus Peter wanted to perpetuate the name of the saint.

The symbolism of St. Andrew's flag has deep roots. One of the disciples of Jesus Christ was Andrew - the brother of the Apostle Peter (Cephas, former Simon), the patron saint of Tsar Peter I. According to the Gospel, both brothers fished on Lake Galilee, that is, they were directly related to the sea. Andrew was the first to be called by Jesus Christ as a disciple and therefore was called the First Called. According to some sources, Andrei was sent for missionary work to Scythia (Northern Black Sea region). A number of Russian sources report on the apostle’s journey from Crimea to Rome via Ladoga. It is said that Andrei, having made a stop on the hills near the Dnieper, where Kyiv would be founded, told his disciples that the grace of God would shine here and a great city would be founded. He climbed the hills, blessed them and planted the cross. Then he visited the northern lands of Rus', marveling at the custom of the Slavs, who, while washing in the baths, beat themselves with “young twigs” and doused themselves with kvass and ice water. Some sources report the further journey of the Apostle Andrew to the north, where he erected a cross near the present village of Gruzino on the banks of the Volkhov, to Lake Ladoga and visiting the island of Valaam. At the same time, it should be noted that many authors, including Orthodox church historians, question the existence of this journey.

One thing is certain, the Apostle Andrew became famous as a tireless traveler and preacher of Christianity. The missionary's activities were closely connected with the sea. The “Golden Legend” (a collection of Christian legends and lives of saints, written in the 13th century) reports the salvation and even resurrection of 40 travelers who were heading by sea to the apostle, but were destroyed by a storm (another version reports the calming of the sea by prayer). This can explain the veneration of St. Andrew the First-Called as the patron saint of sailors. His life ended with martyrdom - crucifixion on an oblique cross (which received the name of the apostle).

The veneration of the Apostle Andrew in the Russian state and the special attitude of Tsar Peter Alekseevich towards him was expressed in the fact that in 1698 the first Russian order was established - the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The main part of the order was the image of the Apostle Andrew, crucified on an oblique cross. Until 1917, the Order of St. Andrew on a blue ribbon remained the main and most revered award in the Russian Empire (since 1998, the highest award of the Russian Federation). It should also be noted that the symbolism of the St. Andrew’s flag came from Peter’s father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who established a special flag for the ship “Eagle” built under him - a white-blue-red panel with a double-headed scarlet eagle.

Having become tsar, Pyotr Alekseevich paid great attention to the development of designs for the flag of the Russian fleet. So, in 1692, two sketches were created. One - with three horizontal stripes and the signature: “white”, “blue”, and “red”. The second drawing shows the same colors with a St. Andrew’s cross “superimposed” on them. In 1693 and 1695, the flag of the second project was listed in a number of European atlases as the “flag of Muscovy.” It must be said that in search of the final version of the Russian naval flag, the tsar went through about 30 projects over two decades. In August 1693, Tsar Peter raised the St. Peter" flag of three horizontal stripes (white, blue and red) with a golden eagle in the center. From this moment on, one can trace the development of the naval flag of the Russian state. Unfortunately, there is no data on what banners the boats of Russian soldiers sailed under in the first millennium AD, or the ships of Novgorod merchants and ushkuiniks. Although it can be assumed that Russian battle banners have been red since ancient times.

In 1696, during the second siege of the Turkish fortress of Azov, Russian ships carried at the stern a flag with a blue straight cross and quarters of white and red colors. However, the very next year, Tsar Peter established a new flag of the navy of three horizontal stripes - white, blue and red, essentially returning to the 1693 version. Under this flag, the ship “Fortress” went to Constantinople in 1699 with the first official diplomatic mission of the Russian navy. At the same time, the Russian sovereign, who had just returned from a trip to Western Europe, continued his search for a design of the Russian naval flag. In the autumn of 1699, for the first time, the “St. Andrew’s” oblique blue cross appears on a white-blue-red cloth - the sign of the patron saint of Rus', Apostle Andrew the First-Called. It was also placed by the king in the white head of the tricolor pennant, known since 1697, which existed under the name “ordinary” until 1870.

In 1700, Tsar Peter examined engravings and drawings of the 58-gun ship Goto Predestination (God's Foresight). In the engravings of Adrian Schonebeck and in the watercolors of Bergman, the warship is depicted with six different flags! One of the views depicts a flag, in the panel of which nine horizontal stripes of white, blue and red colors are successively located; on the other there is a white-blue-red flag with three horizontal stripes (1697 version); on the third there is a flag of seven stripes, on a wide white central stripe of which there is a black St. Andrew's cross, above this stripe there are narrow white, blue and red stripes, and below it there are narrow blue, white and red stripes. However, the tsar believes that the flag of 1697 is outdated, and the nine-stripe panel is difficult to read and, moreover, is very similar to the Dutch flag of the rear admiral. The Tsar is satisfied with the flags in the drawings: white, blue and red with St. Andrew's blue cross in the upper quarter of the flag near the flagpole. This system was similar to that adopted in the English fleet. At the same time, flags of the galley fleet were established, which differed from ship flags by the presence of braids (the ends of the flag in the form of right triangles). In addition, white, blue and red pennants began to be raised on the masts of ships, with a blue St. Andrew's cross placed in the white head. Blue and red flags and pennants, which were sometimes canceled and reintroduced, generally existed until 1865. The white flag received a new design already in 1710 - the blue St. Andrew's cross was moved to the center of the flag and seemed to hang in it, without touching the ends of the flag. The St. Andrew's flag adopted its familiar image in 1712: a white flag with a blue St. Andrew's cross. In this form, this flag existed in the Russian Navy until November 1917.

Since 1720, a special flag, which was previously used as a flag for sea fortresses and called the “Keiser flag,” began to be raised on the bowsprit of ships of the Russian fleet. The red banner was crossed not only by an oblique blue cross, but by a straight white cross. It is believed that it appeared in 1701. Until 1720, Russian ships carried a small copy of the stern flag as a huys. The word “guys” has an interesting meaning: it comes from the Dutch “guys”, meaning beggar. This is the name given to the inhabitants of the Netherlands who rebelled against Spanish rule in the 16th century. The largest group of Gueuze fought at sea ("Sea Gueuze") and began to use this flag for the first time.

Guys, flag of sea fortresses.

The primacy of the white flag, with the blue St. Andrew's Cross, was finally enshrined in the Charter of 1797: “If ships are not assigned anywhere, they fly white flags.” At the same time, the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from its founding until 1918 sailed only under white St. Andrew's flags. Colored - blue and red flags were abolished during the reigns of Anna Ioannovna and Catherine the Great. In the roofs (the upper quarter of the flag near the pole) of the blue and red flags from 1797 to 1801 (during the reign of Pavel Petrovich) it was not the St. Andrew’s flag that was placed, but the guy, which for Emperor Paul I, who from childhood held the rank of admiral general, had special meaning as a personal sign. It should be noted that it was Emperor Pavel Petrovich who turned old flags and banners from items of clothing into military relics. In addition, under Emperor Paul, some Russian ships for some time raised a red flag with a white cross of St. John. This flag was created as a stern sign of the Maltese squadrons created by the newly created head of the Order of Malta. On December 16, 1798, Paul I was elected Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and planned to create a fleet based in Malta to ensure the interests of the Russian Empire in the Mediterranean Sea and southern Europe. The flag was abolished after the death of Pavel Petrovich.

In the 19th century, several more new stern flags appeared in the Russian Empire. So, back in 1797, the ships of the Naval Cadet Corps received a special stern flag, where the coat of arms of the educational institution was placed in the center of the St. Andrew's flag in a red oval. And on the mainmast of the ships of this educational institution they began to raise “ordinary” pennants with three-color braids. Since 1827, ships of training sea crews received the right to raise a special flag, which had an image of a cannon and an anchor (they were also placed in a red oval). The Russian Imperial Navy received its stern flags and hydrographic vessels. In 1828, a flag “for navigation” was established; on the St. Andrew’s flag in the center there was a drawing of a black compass reel with a golden anchor pointing to the north. True, already in 1837 this flag was replaced by the flag of the Hydrograph General established in 1829. It had the same black compass reel, but in a small blue cover. In addition, in 1815-1833. there was also a stern flag for the ships of the Vistula military flotilla (Flag of the military ships of the Kingdom of Poland). It was St. Andrew's flag with a small red roof, in which a white Polish eagle was placed. This flag was canceled after the defeat of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831.

Flag of the Hydrographer General of the General Staff. Flag of ships intended for navigation.

Until 1797, auxiliary vessels of the navy of the Russian Empire carried a tricolor flag at the stern and a jack on the bowsprit. From 1794 to 1804, auxiliary vessels were distinguished by a military pennant. And since May 1804 they received a special flag with a white or blue cloth, with a roof of national colors (white-blue-red) and crossed anchors under it. In addition, the armed transport simultaneously carried a military pennant. All of these flags were abolished in 1865.

St. George's pennant is a three-color pennant with the St. Andrew's flag at the head, on the center of the cross of which there is a red shield with the image of the patron saint of the military, St. George the Victorious, was established in 1819. It began to distinguish the guards crew, which earned this honor in the battle of the city of Kulm in 1813. Other differences that distinguished senior officials were the St. George admiral's flag (it had the panel of the St. Andrew's flag, but with the red shield of St. George the Victorious), the St. George's braid pennant and the rear admiral's boat flag. In addition, during the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829. In battles with the Turks, the 74-gun battleship Azov (hero of the Battle of Navarino) and the 18-gun brig Mercury (victory over two Turkish battleships) especially distinguished themselves; they were marked with the Admiral's St. George flags, which were raised as stern ones. In the entire subsequent history of the Russian Empire, not a single warship of the Russian fleet has received such an award.

With the development of the country, changes also occurred in the flags of the navy. In 1865, due to unnecessary use, blue and red flags and pennants were abolished. All, except St. Andrew's, stern flags were also cancelled. In 1870, boat flags became topmast flags of admirals, and the “ordinary” pennant under which ships that were not assigned to any unit sailed was eliminated. The St. George pennant received white braids instead of tricolor ones. In the same year, the stern flag of the auxiliary ships of the Russian Navy became a blue flag, which had an image of the St. Andrew's flag in the roof. In addition, as the armed forces develop, flags of ships of sea fortresses, new flags of officials, ships of individual units, ships of a separate Border Guard Corps, and flags of naval aviation appear.

The 1917 revolution brought new symbols. Red banners began to be raised next to St. Andrew's flags. Since the spring of 1918, the raising of the St. Andrew's flag on ships of Soviet Russia was stopped. At the end of 1924, St. Andrew's flags were also lowered on the ships of the White fleet in Bizerte (the ships were laid down to the French, who would soon “put them on pins and needles”). The Guys and the fortress flag, with some changes - in the central part of the flag in a white circle there was a red star with a hammer and sickle in the middle, existed until 1932. In addition, during the Second World War, the symbolism of the St. Andrew's flag was used by the collaborationist units of General Vlasov.

On January 17, 1992, the Russian government adopted a resolution that returned the St. Andrew's flag to the status of the Russian Naval flag. As a result, the pre-revolutionary St. Andrew's flag and jack were restored to the Russian Navy and are still in use today.

The phrase “St. Andrew’s flag” has long become stable and is associated exclusively with the fleet, but the question still arises: why this particular male name was chosen for the name, because it could well be Aleksandrovsky, Ivanovsky or Fedorovsky. The thing is that a special cross was chosen as a symbol for the banner, which is called St. Andrew's.

And his story is this: among the apostles of Jesus there were two fishermen brothers Peter and Andrey, the latter is discussed in the song “Walking on Water,” popular in the 90s of the last century. After the crucifixion of Christ, he traveled, preached Christian doctrine and was executed in Greece. He suffered martyrdom on a cross, the shape of which represents the intersection of two beams driven into the ground at an angle and forming an acute angle. Therefore, two intersecting lines are a symbol of the Apostle Andrew.

The proportions of Andreevsky's sides are 2 to 3, and the width of the blue stripes is 1/10 of the length.

Why exactly Apostle Andrew

The connection between the Apostle Andrew and the Navy of the Russian Federation is not obvious, but there are two reasons why the symbol of this martyr adorns the flags of our fleet. Firstly, in his wanderings, Andrew the First-Called reached the places that later became Russia, and even, according to some legends, left his pectoral cross in Kyiv. This statement can be questioned, because the emergence of the first urban settlements on the right bank of the Dnieper dates back to the 5-6th century AD.

And although the legend remains a legend, it is because of it that St. Andrew the First-Called is one of the patrons of Russia. The second fact connecting the apostle with the fleet is his profession - he fished in the Sea of ​​Galilee. And since part of the fish was for sale, initially he patronized all maritime trade, and only after St. Andrew’s Cross adorned the flags of warships.

Peter I honored St. Andrew the First-Called, and it was he who, by his decree, approved the type of stern flags in 1720.

St. Andrew's Cross on other Flags

It is interesting that the symbol of the fisherman apostle, whom Christ called to be his disciple first, is very popular in emblems and, in particular, in heraldry. The St. Andrew's Cross can easily be seen in the flags of Great Britain, Scotland, Jamaica, the American states of Alabama and Florida, and the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza. It was also used during the Great Patriotic War by Vlasov’s detachments, and is now part of the troops of such maritime states as Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Belgium.

Many people mistakenly believe that the St. Andrew's flag is the naval flag of the Russian Federation. This is a wrong opinion. The St. Andrew's flag is any flag whose elements include the St. Andrew's cross. This misconception arises due to the fact that the classic St. Andrew’s flag is considered to be exactly the version of its image that is used on the naval flag. The recognizable flag of Great Britain, the flag of Scotland and many other flags, including the Russian Navy flag, also have this cross as the basis for the entire design. But in this context we will talk specifically about the naval flag of the Russian Federation.

History of the St. Andrew's flag as the basis for the naval flag of the Russian Federation.

The classic St. Andrew's flag is a standard rectangular canvas, with St. Andrew's cross located from the center to the corners. The background color of the panel is usually blue, and the cross itself, as already mentioned, is diagonal and white. Inversion of colors is possible (this option is used on the flag of Scotland). St. Andrew's cross is an independent symbol that refers to the crucifixion of St. Andrew the First-Called. As the New Testament says, the Apostle Andrew was crucified on two crossed and obliquely located boards in relation to the ground, which explains the fact that the cross design on the flags is also diagonal. What is interesting and noticeable by which organizations use the St. Andrew’s Cross on their flags is that all of them are somehow related to the sea and water in principle. This is the fleet of the Russian Empire and the Russian Federation, these are countries whose fleet has always been very powerful, and whose borders are protected by the sea - Jamaica, Great Britain. This feature is explained by the fact that Andrew the First-Called is considered the patron of maritime activities.

The first organization to use this symbol on its attributes was Scotland. At the time of the adoption of such symbols, Scotland was still a separate kingdom (832). Of course, this year is very approximate, since it is problematic to accurately verify this fact due to the lack of precise documentary evidence. According to legend, during the war with the English, the Scottish king, in despair, swore that if the Scots won, he would declare St. Andrew the First-Called the patron of his kingdom. At that same moment, the outlines of St. Andrew's Cross clearly appeared in the sky. In that battle, the Scots were victorious and fulfilled their promise, including by approving such a flag. But perhaps the most famous use of the cross in symbolism is the British flag. The way everyone knows it, it also owes its name to the flag of the Kingdom of Scotland. In the 17th century, the king, a Scot by origin, ascended to the English throne. A new flag was created to celebrate the unification of England and Scotland. Later, as you know, other lands joined this union, and ultimately the flag took on its modern appearance.

In Russia, flags with the St. Andrew's Cross existed during the Russian Empire after their establishment by Peter the Great. These were guys, serf flags. The ruler adopted the cross from the symbolism of the Dutch fleet during his visit to Europe. During the Soviet era, the appearance of the flag completely changed; the St. Andrew's Cross was abandoned in favor of Soviet symbols. In 1992, after the collapse of the USSR and the creation of the Navy of the Russian Federation, the cross element was returned to use. Currently, the St. Andrew's Cross is depicted by the flag of the Russian Navy, the serf flag, the flag of the Coast Guard of the Border Troops of the Russian Federation, and the naval flag of the Russian Federation. On these flags, except for the last one, the cross is not used in its classic form, which is manifested in other colors and proportions.

St. Andrew's flag as a naval ensign of the Russian Federation.

The very first Russian naval flag was not even the St. Andrew's flag. It was the flag of the ship "Eagle". The exact design of this flag is not known. Many assumptions have been put forward, most of which ultimately boil down to the fact that the flag most likely contained white, red and light blue (or blue) colors, its design was based on stripes. The location of the stripes relative to each other, their proportions are not precisely known. Before 1699, there were several other versions of the naval flag, the appearance of some of which is not thoroughly known. In this year, Peter the Great, by his decree, established the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which already used the element of the St. Andrew's Cross. After this, the ruler decided to introduce it into other official symbols - the guy and the naval flag. Interesting fact: the naval flag was not always called as such. During the time of Peter the Great, for example, it was called the First Admiral's Flag.

The Russian Empire ceased to exist during the civil war at the beginning of the twentieth century. From 1918 to 1924, the St. Andrew's Cross was still present on the naval ensign, sometimes with other elements (for example, a white deer in the center of the cross). In 1924, flags with a cross element finally ceased to exist due to the recognition of Soviet Russia by foreign states.

In 1992, the Russian Federation reintroduced elements of the St. Andrew's Cross into its symbolism. The stern flag of the ships of the Imperial Navy was taken as a model. However, the color of the cross was changed from deep blue to light blue. The flag existed in this form until 2001, when the color was changed again, this time to the original blue. The background of the flag is white. The Guards Naval Flag has also been preserved since the Great Patriotic War. It was worn by those ships and their formations that were awarded the title of guards. The flag was supplemented with a St. George ribbon, located just below the center of the flag from the outer edge of one stripe of the cross to the outer edge of the second along the entire length. There are also the Order Naval Flag and the Guards Order Naval Flag. These symbols are worn by those ships that were awarded the Order of the Russian Federation. In the upper left corner of a regular naval flag there is an image of the order itself. The Guards Order flag also has a St. George ribbon.

Of course, anyone who served in the Russian Navy is proud of it. And for any Russian person, in principle, the symbolism of St. Andrew’s Cross is to some extent sacred. Peter the Great extremely successfully combined the fleet and this symbol, which even modern legislators recognized, allowing the St. Andrew's flag to return as a naval flag almost 80 years after its abolition.

St. Andrew's flag for two hundred years, from 1720 to 1918, was the stern flag of the navy of the Russian Empire. In 1992, it was again raised on ships of the Russian Navy. And since December 29, 2000, on the basis of federal law No. 162, it became the banner of the naval forces of the Russian Federation. The history of St. Andrew's flag over three hundred years has been filled with examples of heroism, self-sacrifice, patriotism and tragedies. It became inseparable from the history of Russia and experienced ups and downs along with it.

History of the blue and white flag

The St. Andrew's flag owes its appearance to Peter 1. It was he who chose a blue oblique cross on a white field (the symbol of St. Andrew the First-Called) as the flag of the young navy. There are several legends explaining this choice of the king. One of them claims that a slanting shadow from a window frame falling on a blank sheet of paper gave Peter this idea. However, most likely it is due to the special attitude of Russians towards the saint. After all, Andrew the First-Called has long been considered the patron saint of Rus'. Even in the “Tale of Bygone Years” it is reported that the apostle preached in places where, over time, Kyiv and Veliky Novgorod appeared, and blessed them. No wonder Peter, describing the new flag, said that it depicts the cross with which the Apostle Andrew baptized Russia.

The last flag of the Russian Empire

St. Andrew's flag fluttered over Russian ships in the days of their glorious victories at Gangut, Chesma, Navarino and Sinop; it inspired desperately fighting sailors in the Tsushima Strait. It went to the bottom along with the dead but not surrendered cruiser “Varyag”, which sank in Chimulpo Bay (now the city of Incheon). This St. Andrew's flag, the photo of which is presented below, was raised and returned to Russia in 2009 (the photo was taken after the flag was delivered to its homeland).

During the Civil War, in particular during Drozdovsky’s campaign, the St. Andrew’s flag was the banner of Colonel Zhebrak’s unit. It was used on ships of the “white movement” even after the Civil War, until 1924. In December of this year, the St. Andrew's flag was lowered on the last remaining “white” ships stationed in the port of Bizerte (North Africa). The reason for this was the recognition of Soviet Russia by France. At first, the Soviet Navy also used a guy with a St. Andrew's Cross, to which minimal changes were made in the form of a star in the center. But later, the now well-known flag of the USSR Navy was introduced. However, here too the influence of the previous symbols is clearly visible to the naked eye, because the new flag retained the colors of the old one - white and blue.

The pride of Russian sailors

The history of the uprising on the battleship of the Black Sea Fleet “Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky” speaks eloquently about the attitude of Russian sailors to the St. Andrew’s flag. The rebel sailors raised the red banner, but left the stern St. Andrew's flag in place. Because they believed that it was a symbol of the courage and glory of the Russian navy, and not the banner of the Tsar. And this glory and the memory of the fallen heroes will be unshakable as long as the white banner with an oblique blue cross proudly flutters on the ship.