Connected with the construction in 1669 of the first Russian warship "Eagle". According to surviving evidence, a flag was made for the “Eagle” in 1668, consisting of white, blue and red colors (and an equal amount of fabric of each color was required to make the flag), the exact arrangement of the colors is not known, Russian was ordered to be “written” on the flag National emblem. There are several reconstructions of this flag. According to one of the reconstructions (author P.I. Belavenets), the “Eagle” flag was divided by a blue cross into 2 red and 2 white fields according to the Streltsy pattern (similar flags are depicted in the engraving of Adrian Schonebeck “The Siege of Azov in 1696” (ca. 1700). A similar flag, along with other variants, is depicted in one of the first books about flags by the Dutchman Karl Alyard (1695).The publication date of Alyard's book (1695) should not confuse the reader, at that time the books took a very long time to be printed, and corrections and additions were made during the printing process In reality, this version of the flag could have appeared in the book no earlier than 1698.
Other historians believed that already on the “Eagle” a flag of three horizontal stripes appeared: white, blue and red. Probably, this idea was first expressed by naval historian F.F. Veselago
Peter I, carried away by the idea of creating a Russian fleet, himself studied maritime affairs, he sailed on a boat on Lake Pereyaslavl, Prosyanoy Pond in Izmailovo. Nowadays 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 on the stern.
According to the information of the historian P.I. Belavenets, on August 6, 1693, in Arkhangelsk, on the armed yacht “St. Peter”, Peter I used the striped white-blue-red “flag of the Tsar of Moscow” with a golden double-headed eagle on the middle stripe. In the book of flags by Carlus Alyard this flag was described as follows:
“The flag of His Royal Majesty of Moscow is divided into three, the upper stripe is white, the middle blue, the lower red. On the blue stripe, gold with the royal karuna, is crowned with a double-headed eagle, having a red mark in the heart, with a silver Saint George without a serpent.”
Now this flag is kept in the Maritime Museum of St. Petersburg. He got there from Arkhangelsk, where he stayed for many years, having been presented by Peter I to Archbishop Athanasius of Arkhangelsk.
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 see, the use of white, blue and red colors on the flag was recorded under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter’s father, long before Peter Alekseevich’s Western European voyage. The “Dutch” version is also associated with the leader of the construction of the “Eagle”, the Dutch captain O. Butler. He is credited with the idea of making the flag of a Russian ship modeled on the flags of his homeland.
In 1695, Peter I started a war with Turkey. This served as a powerful impetus for the creation of a navy. Many warships were built. Russian sailors penetrated into the Black Sea and then into the Baltic Sea.
In 1697, Peter I established a new model of the Russian naval flag, which consisted of horizontal white, blue, and red stripes. In October-November 1699, the first versions of the St. Andrew's flag appeared. In 1699, when the ship "Fortress" set sail for 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 he chose the St. Andrew’s flag in honor of St. Andrew the First-Called “for the sake of the fact that Russia received holy baptism from this apostle.” Additionally, according to Peter I, the St. Andrew's flag 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 famous. Peter copied the order and perhaps decided to transfer the St. Andrew’s flag to Russian soil, only changing its colors.
In engravings with images of ships of that time you can see various options for transitional types of naval flags(some of them are possibly 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, on the topmast and on the 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 at the top and bottom with stripes of national colors.
In the engraving with the image of "Poltava" a white flag with an St. Andrew's cross flies at the stern of the ship, the ends of which do not reach the corners of the flag, and on the topmast there is an imperial standard. However, the engraving of “Poltava” raises certain criticisms. 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 on the stern there is a flag with the St. Andrew's cross in the entire panel. This practice is highly questionable. In the Russian fleet, the huys (bow flag) first repeated the stern one, and then a single huys was introduced. If there is a “colored” flag at the bow, then there must also be one at the stern. Apparently the author of the engraving somewhat “approximated” the information he had.
Russian naval flags
For a long time, Russia did not have a navy, since it did not have access to the seas. Providing Russia with a sea coast and building a fleet are tasks that only Peter I was able to solve for the first time.
True, in 1667-1669, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the first Russian ship “Eagle” was built by foreign craftsmen, which was to sail along the Volga and the Caspian Sea. This ship did not reach the sea, as it fell into the hands of the Razins and was burned by them, however, it is known that flags of white, blue and red were hung on the ship. Peter I chose the same colors for his newly built fleet.
Along with the well-known white-blue-red flag, Peter also established the St. Andrew's flag - white with an oblique blue cross.
Initially, both the white-blue-red and St. Andrew's flags were equally used by the military and civilian fleets. The division of flags into naval and commercial flags occurred only in 1705.
Under Peter I, the Russian guis also appeared, the basis of which was a blue St. Andrew's cross, placed on a red cloth and complemented by a straight narrow white cross.
The stern St. Andrew's flag and jack remained the unchanged flags of the Russian Navy until 1917.
Over time, special St. George flags and pennants were introduced for ships that distinguished themselves in battles. On them, in the center of the St. Andrew's Cross, was an image of St. George the Victorious in a red shield.
After the October Revolution of 1917, some of the ships remained under the St. Andrew's flag, but some raised red flags. During the Civil War and intervention
most of the ships of all fleets were captured by the interventionists. The same ships that remained under the rule of the Soviet government carried the state flag - red with the yellow inscription "Russian Socialist Soviet Federative Republic".
On September 29, 1920, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued a decree according to which the Naval flag of the Soviet Republic became “a red flag with an anchor, a red star in the middle of it and white letters “RSFSR” at the top of the anchor.” The anchor was blue, and the flag itself had two braids.
In 1924, in connection with the formation of the USSR, a system of naval flags was approved. The naval flag became a red cloth with a white circle and eight rays (sun), in the center of which was a red five-pointed star with a hammer and sickle.
Guys was very similar to the pre-revolutionary one, but in the center there was also a white circle with a star, sickle and hammer.
Special flags were approved for various types of ships and for officials.
Blue flags with
naval flag in the roof. The flag of the border ships became green for the first time.
On May 27, 1935, the Naval flag was changed and acquired the form in which it existed until the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a white cloth with a blue stripe along the bottom edge and with the image of a red sickle and hammer and a five-pointed star.
Guys also changed - it began to look like a red cloth with a white outline of a five-pointed star and a hammer and sickle inside it.
The USSR fleet fought under these flags during the Great Patriotic War. On June 21, 1942, the Guards Naval Flag with the image of the St. George Ribbon was installed for ships that distinguished themselves in battle. In essence, this was a revival of the old St. George flag.
In the second half of the twentieth century, the appearance of the flags of naval vessels and the flags of commanders changed several times, as did the structure of the fleet and the names of positions, but the stern Naval flag itself remained unchanged.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the question of the symbolism of the Russian army and navy became acute. Naturally, when choosing a flag for the Navy, preference was given to the historical St. Andrew's flag, which has become famous for more than two centuries. By decree of the President of Russia of July 21, 1992, the historical Russian Naval flag and jack were restored. In general, the system of naval flags has remained, for the most part, the same. The naval flag of the USSR in the roof was simply replaced there by Andreevsky.
The naval ensign hoisted on a Navy ship is the Battle Banner of the ship. It symbolizes the nationality and inviolability of the ship floating under it, as well as the ship’s readiness to defend the state interests of the Russian Federation at sea and ocean borders. The naval flag is a symbol of military honor, valor and glory, serving as a reminder to each member of the ship's crew of the heroic traditions and 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 panel with a blue straight cross and two white and two red rectangles (covers), or a panel of three horizontal equal stripes - white, blue and red with a golden double-headed eagle in the center.
An engraving from 1700 by the Dutchman A. Schonebeek about the capture of Azov in 1696 shows flags with straight crosses.
After visiting as part of the Great British Embassy, Peter I in March 1699, in the image and likeness of the Scottish Order of the Holy Apostle the First-Called, established the first order in Russia - the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The main image in the sign of the order was an azure (blue) oblique cross with the image of the crucified St. 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; since the 12th century, the silver (white) oblique St. Andrew's cross has been depicted on Scottish icons and seals; since the 16th century, the flag of Scotland has been known - a white St. Andrew's cross on a blue cloth.
In October 1699, Peter I, in a draft decree to the envoy in Istanbul E. I. Ukraintsev, depicted drawings of two flags: with three horizontal equal-sized stripes (marked “white,” “blue,” and “red”) and with a blue oblique cross on top these stripes.
From 1699 to 1712, Peter I drew several more flag projects, which were successively adopted by the Navy. The latest 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 navy respects traditions, observes old rituals and values symbols. Everyone knows that the main flag is the St. Andrew's banner, which proudly fluttered on the masts and main topmasts of the first imperial sailing ships of Peter the Great's fleet. However, not everyone knows that even then there were other naval flags that differed in function and informational purpose. This situation still applies today.
Birth of St. Andrew's flag
Peter the Great created it, and he also took care of its symbols. He drew the first sea 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, that served until the October Revolution of 1917. Overshadowed by the cross of St. Andrew the First-Called, Russian ships won many victories, and even if they suffered defeats, the glory of the heroism of the sailors has survived generations and shines to this day.
Saint Andrew the First-Called
The reason why this particular symbol was chosen has a deep meaning. The fact is that the first disciple of Christ, Andrew the First-Called, brother of the Apostle Peter, is considered both the patron saint of sailors (he himself was a Galilean fisherman) and Holy Rus'. On his travels, he visited, among many other cities, Kyiv, Veliky Novgorod, and Volkhov, preaching the Christian faith. The Apostle Andrew suffered martyrdom on the cross, while his executioners crucified him not on a straight cross, but on an oblique cross (this is how the concept and name of this symbol arose).
The Russian naval flag in Peter's final version looked like a white cloth crossed out with a blue cross. This is how he 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 fronts were on the ground, and when devastation came, there was simply no money to maintain complex equipment. The few ships of the river and sea flotillas remaining at the disposal of the new government raised maritime traditions, heraldry, symbols, history and similar “ashes of the old world” by the leadership of the workers’ and peasants’ army and comrade L. D. Trotsky with contempt.
In 1923, the former officer of the Tsarist Navy, Ordynsky, nevertheless convinced 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 flew on yards and flagpoles until 1935, then it had to be abandoned. Imperial Japan was becoming a likely enemy, and from afar the ships could easily be confused.
The decision on a new Red Navy pennant was made by the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Even then, some continuity was observed, white and blue colors appeared on it, borrowed from St. Andrew's banner, but, of course, the new symbol of the USSR Navy could not do without a star and a hammer and sickle, both red ones.
In 1950, it was changed somewhat, reducing the relative size of the star. The flag acquired geometric balance and objectively became 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 entirely correspond to historical tradition, but in general it was almost the same as under Peter the Great. Everything is back to normal.
What flags are there in the navy?
There are different flags in the navy, and their purposes are different. In addition to the usual stern St. Andrew's banners, on ships of the first and second ranks, a jack is also raised, but only when moored at the pier. After going to sea, the stern flag is hoisted on the mast or topmasts (at the highest point). If a battle begins, the state flag is raised.
"Colored" flags
The charter also provides for pennants for naval commanders of various ranks. Naval flags, indicating the presence of commanders on board, are indicated by a red banner, a quarter of which is occupied by a blue St. Andrew's cross on a white background. The color field contains:
- one star (white) - if the commander of a formation of ships is on board;
- two stars (white) - if there is a flotilla or squadron commander on board;
- three stars (white) - if the fleet commander is on board.
In addition, there are other colored flags, with the image of the coat of arms of the Russian Federation on a red background, crossed out by two crosses, St. Andrew's and a straight white one, or with two intersecting anchors on the same background. This means the presence on the ship of the Minister of Defense or the Chief of the General Staff.
Signal flags
Information exchange, as in previous times, 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 spherical-gray monotony of ship camouflage with their multicolor, but if necessary they can also perform their direct function. Sailors must be able to use them, and for this they need to study reference books, which contain all the flag signals. These volumes consist of sections that contain transcripts of geographical names, names of ships, military ranks and similar information. Directories come in two-flag and three-flag formats; with the help of many combinations, you can quickly report the situation and transmit orders. Negotiations with foreign vessels are conducted through the International Code of Flags.
In addition to pennants meaning entire phrases, there have always been letter flags with which you can compose any message.
Flags with St. George's Ribbon
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 orange and black stripes indicate that a ship or coastal base belongs to 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 Russian naval flag testifies to the special combat readiness and high class of both the ship itself and its crew; it obliges us to a lot.
Marines flag
During the USSR, each branch of the military had its own symbols. For example, the maritime border guards belonging to the State Security Committee of the USSR had their own flag, which was a compilation of the Navy flag in a reduced form on a green field. Now, after the adoption of a single model, there is less diversity, but unofficial symbols have appeared, created by the imagination of military personnel, and therefore, probably, 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 type 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 (almost together with the fleet), and during its existence it covered itself with unfading glory. In 1669, its first unit was the Eagle team, and in 1705 the first naval regiment of soldiers was formed. It was November 27, and since then this day has been celebrated by all Marines. They fought not only as naval paratroopers, but also took part in land operations, during the Napoleonic invasion, and in other wars (Crimean, Russian-Turkish, World War I, Great Patriotic War). In the armed conflicts of recent decades, they also had to fight, and the enemy knew that if the Marine Corps flag was raised, then the circumstances were very unfavorable for him and it was best for him to retreat.
After a long break, heraldic naval justice was restored in February 2012. From the hands of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Kuroyedov, received the updated Russian naval flag. Now he flies over all the oceans.
Scottish Godbrothers
St. Andrew's flag, which became a symbol of the victories of the Russian navy, like many other innovations, appeared in Russia during the time of Peter I.
The first state flag in history with the so-called St. Andrew's Cross appeared in Scotland.
Apostle Andrew the First-Called suffered martyrdom on an oblique cross. According to legend, in 832, King Angus II, who led the army of Picts and Scots, before the battle with the Angles, led by Athelstan, on the night before the battle prayed to God for victory on the battlefield and vowed that in case of victory he would declare St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called patron saint of Scotland. In the morning, the clouds above the battlefield formed the letter “X” in the blue sky, repeating the shape of the cross on which the Apostle Andrew was crucified. The inspired Scots and Picts defeated the enemy, after which Andrew the First-Called was proclaimed the patron saint of Scotland. The country's flag is a white oblique cross on a blue background.
After the personal union of England and Scotland emerged in 1606, the Scottish cross became part of the common flag of the United Kingdom and is still present today.
The fleet received a flag in honor of the heavenly patron of Russia
When, at the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, Peter I thought about new state symbols, the oblique cross was among the most preferred symbols.
According to legend, the Apostle Andrew visited the lands of future Rus', therefore, starting from the 11th century, he was a particularly revered saint in the Russian lands - the heavenly patron of Russia.
In 1698, Peter I established the first order in Russia, which was the highest award of the Russian Empire - the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. It is not surprising that among the flag designs that the tsar himself drew, there was also a flag with an oblique cross.
On December 11, 1699, Peter I approved a flag with a blue oblique cross on a white background as one of the flags adopted for use in the Russian fleet. In fact, the finalization of the flag and status was carried out by the tsar for another two decades, and only the Naval Charter of 1720 established: “The flag is white, across it there is a blue St. Andrew’s cross, with which he christened Russia.”
“God and St. Andrew’s flag are with us!”
From that moment until 1917, the St. Andrew's flag became the main and only one in the Russian Navy. In 1819, it was supplemented by the St. George Admiral's flag, which was the St. Andrew's flag, in the center of which a red heraldic shield with a canonical image was placed Saint George the Victorious. Such a flag was awarded to a ship whose crew showed exceptional courage and bravery in achieving victory or in defending the honor of the naval flag.
Initially, the length of the St. Andrew's flag reached four meters. The gigantic size was needed so that the banner fluttering in the wind would create a terrifying roar - this was a kind of psychic attack.
The veneration of St. Andrew's flag in the fleet was extremely great. The commanders of Russian ships, entering into battle, invariably repeated the same phrase: “God and St. Andrew’s flag are with us.”
The ship that lowered its flag was burned, the captain was forbidden to marry
The naval charter of Peter I, which ordered the defense of St. Andrew's flag to the last drop of blood, was strictly observed. In the entire history of the Russian fleet, the flag was lowered voluntarily only twice.
On May 11, 1829, the commander of the Russian frigate "Raphael", captain 2nd rank Semyon Stroynikov, lowered the flag in front of a Turkish squadron of 15 ships, trying to save the lives of the crew.
A personal decree of Emperor Nicholas I ordered that the frigate that had disgraced itself should be burned if it fell into the hands of the Russians. This happened only 24 years later, in the Battle of Sinop, but the emperor’s will was carried out - “Raphael,” which was in the Turkish fleet, was burned, and this name was never again used for Russian ships.
As for Captain Stroynikov, upon his return from captivity he was stripped of all awards and titles, and was also demoted to ordinary sailors. Moreover, Stroynikov was forbidden to marry, “so as not to have the offspring of a coward and a traitor in Russia.” The paradox, however, was that the disgraced captain already had two sons by that time, and both of them later became rear admirals of the Russian fleet.
The second time the flags on Russian ships were lowered in 1905, at the end of the Battle of Tsushima, on the orders of Rear Admiral Nebogatov, who sought to save the lives of the remaining sailors and officers.
In August 1905, for this act, he was deprived of his ranks, and then put on trial, which in December 1906 sentenced the rear admiral to death, commuted to 10 years of imprisonment in a fortress. Nebogatov served 25 months, after which he was pardoned.
Return
The St. Andrew's flag ceased to be the flag of the Russian Navy in 1917. The last St. Andrew's flags on Russian ships were lowered in 1924 in the port of Bizerte in northern Africa, where the ships of the White Army squadron were concentrated.
The darkest page in the history of the St. Andrew's flag was its use as symbolism by collaborators from the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) of General Vlasov, who fought on the side of the Nazis.
In January 1992, the Russian government decided to return the St. Andrew's flag to the Russian Navy instead of the flag of the USSR Navy.
On July 26, 1992, on Navy Day, the flags of the USSR Navy were raised for the last time on all warships, after which they were 
lowered. Instead, St. Andrew's flags were raised during the anthem of the Russian Federation.
The only ship where the St. Andrew's flag is not raised to this day is the Soviet submarine S-56, which has become a war memorial. In tribute to the feat of Soviet sailors during the Great Patriotic War, the S-56 hosts a daily ceremony of raising and lowering the flag of the USSR Navy, and Russian symbols are not used