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image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 March 2022
Since the dissolution of the USSR and the establishment of the Russian
Federation in 1991, the country has had up to date (2022) only three permanent
Heads of State in the span of roughly 30+ years. Out of those three Heads of
State, two (some might say even one de facto) Heads of State, since one of them,
Dmitry Medvedev during his tenure (2008-2012) had Vladimir Putin as his
VicePresident, who on many occasions took the role of acting President in the
absence of Medvedev. In essence, aside from the official two terms of President
Putin (2000-2008, acting since 1999) and 2012-2024 (which has not ended as of
today), has been in office approximately 18 years plus his tenure as Vice
President (2008-2012), for a total of 18 + 4 years in power.
During that
period of time, several opposition parties, movements and personalities have
appeared. However, depending on the elections and the situation in general of
the country, there's no single official movement nor political party that is
able to represent or encompass them all, let alone have a flag that
distinguishes them.
During the recent events of the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, a military campaign that started on February 24, 2022 there has been a
wide public and international outrage towards Russia's handling of events. In
spite of the complexity of the opposition not unified around one leader and/or
party, there's a recurring concept shared by most opposing parties that
democratic institutions will develop, and representatives of the current
non-systemic opposition will be in power. Representatives of liberal movements
in the Russian opposition use it less often or almost never.
Initially,
the expression "прекрасная Россия будущего" (English: the beautiful Russia of
the future) was used by the Russian politician Alexei Navalny when he spoke of
the transformations he intends to carry out if he comes to power. Aleksey also
tried to register a party called "Future Russia'', which was called the
Progress Party when it was officially established on
December 15, 2012. This party changed its denomination in November 2013, which
was accepted by the Ministry of Justice on November 27, 2013, although the
current logo (and flag) was in use practically between the period 2014-2018,
when a new party was registered, first as "Гражданская позиция" (English: Civil
Position) which in turned was accepted as the continuation of the Progress
Party, which was to hold its first Party Congress in March 2018, but due to
logistic problems it was delayed up until May 19, 2018 when the party "Россия
будущего" (English: Russia of the future) was formally established. Due to
alleged violations of Party registration by the Ministry of Justice, its
official recognition has been refused several times in the period 2019-2021.
Regarding the current situation in the region, many people, especially on
social media, have expressed their concern and their disapproval of the
unfolding events regarding the invasion of Ukraine.
So a proposal was put
forth, by a tweet (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498052584485052422)
dated February 27, 2022 made by (pseudonym) "Звуки рыб" (English: Fish sounds)
from a personal @AssezJeune (account
https://twitter.com/AssezJeune), him/herself described as "PR specialist in
the video game industry. S/He graduated from the magistracy in the art market in
Paris, sick of art. Amateur heraldist, now a bit of a vexillologist" in a
comment made reference to the "прекрасной парламентской России будущего"
(English: beautiful parliamentary Russia of the future) not having a flag and
he/her proposing one. The design is basically the same flag as the Russian
Federation, only without the color red. That is: a white/blue/white flag (some
argue that the removal of the red color stands for not having blood on the flag,
for the deplorable actions taken by the government, while others mention it is a
symbol of "desovietization" in terms of Russia wanting to become an empire
again, in reference to soviet being a gathering (council) as form of government
in the Russian Empire.
image by Esteban Rivera, 18 December 2019
This was followed by a second tweet posting a more "elaborate" design in
order not to confuse the flag with the black outline the previous one had. Then
a third design came, this time having vertical stripes and based on the French
flag, again without the color red and replacing it with the color white.
The designer claims that s/he actually took the idea from another
person, Кай Катонина (English: Kai Katonina) as he/she states (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498307959490850821), in which the so
called virtual State of the Republic of Novegrad (Novgorod) denominated "вече" (English: Veche),
displays as its official symbol.
By definition, this virtual State "is a
multinational representative democratic republic located in northeast Europe,
along the Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean. While its history spans over a
thousand years, the current government was formed in 1925 after the dual
monarchy uniting Novegrad and Russia was dissolved. The current constitution
dates to 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The successes Novegrad
has achieved are largely the result of gradual opening occurring through
the latter half of the 20th Century.
The executive branch is headed by
President Mihajíle Boğeslávice Pétrou. The Cabinet of Ministers is headed by
Prime Minister Aleksándre Andréiovice Rúsou, and reports to the president.
The Novegradian parliament is known as the State Assembly, and is divided
into two houses. The Veche, the lower house, consists of 450 members elected
on the basis of proportional representation. The Council of Nations, the
upper house, consists of 90 councilors, where each province sends two
councilors.
Novegrad is subdivided into 27 oblosts and five autonomous
republics. These oblosts all have equal status under the Novegradian
constitution. The autonomous republics, which represent ethnic groups within
the republic, have an added degree of autonomy, including the right to use
their own language alongside Novegradian in all matters. The republics are
further divided into autonomous oblasts for purposes of administration and to
balance their representation in the State Assembly, bringing the total number
of oblosts to 45."
Source:
http://www.veche.net/eng/state.html
Furthermore, as one can see, the designer himself acknowledges (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498064875926564866) that the
background for the design was the real entity that once existed as
"Новгородское вече" (English: Novgorod veche) which was the highest
legislative and judicial authority in "Великий Новгород" (English:
Veliky Novgorod) until 1478,
when the "Новгородская республика" (English: Novgorod Republic) was brought
under the direct control of the "великие князь" (English: Grand Duke) of
Moscow, Ivan III. It is also important to highlight that the already existing flag
(with the coat of arms) was
already reported featuring the coat of arms.
Additionally he/she adds the right color description and color
composition for the correct design and display, on March 3, 2022 as seen on
his/her tweet (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1499408078948683778).
This proposal gained widespread attention mainly by yet another comment
on Twitter (https://twitter.com/naglfarny) by @naglfarny (Svetozar Ognev)
himself a programer (and most likely native of the City of Nizhny Novgorod, a place where
protests against Putin have been frequent, which
actually
proposed a new flag, when he tweeted (https://twitter.com/naglfarny/status/1498666629185642506) on March 1, 2022
the basic design, as well as adding some further information on the origins
of the flag. In fact, he even mentions that the colors echo those of
neighboring countries (in support for Ukraine), such as Poland, Finland and "новой Беларуси"
(new
Belarus).
The flag has gained widespread
use by activists outside the region and has been spotted in many cities and
countries across the world, mainly in Tbilisi, Cyprus, New York, Krakow,
Vienna, London, Netherlands, Prague, Toronto , Berlin, Barcelona, Dusseldorf,
Helsinki, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Oslo, Vilnius and
Yekaterinburg.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_Vladimir_Putin_in_Russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_of_the_Future
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_anti-war_protests_in_Russia
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://tjournal.ru/internet/552118-fotoproekt-rossiya-s-drugim-variantom-flaga
https://meduza.io/feature/
Esteban Rivera, 18 March 2022
Today, the news reported about some hundred Moscow Russians and
White-Russians participating in a demonstration in front of the Peace Palace in
The Hague. They were sporting White, Blue, White flags, which was described as
follows: This is the Russian Three colours, but the red is washed away to white.
The reason for this is that the demonstrators feel the colour red stands for
"blood".
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 March 2022
In a
short video one can see someone waving a white-blue-white flag, with the
following description: "Russian soldiers fighting for Ukraine against the
Russian Army driving through the Poltava region".
Corentin Chamboredon,
30 April 2022
Here is a link to more information:
https://whitebluewhite.info/english
Elias Granqvist, 1 May 2022
The opposition, living outside Russia, demands a new flag. The "Forum Free
Russia" uses a white-azure-white flag. The red stripe is removed, because it
stands for the shed blood by Russia.
Martin Karner, 9 December 2024
The Russian opposition (meaning legal political opposition to a one-man-rule
in the country) is that this flag represents that exactly: an opposition to the
current Head of State. Now, in the meantime, the same colors were adopted by
this armed group, "Freedom of Russia Legion" which
is actively participating in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Hence, the flag does not
specifically represent an opposition to the war itself, although as Martin
mentions, in recent times it has been used by anti-war activists as well,
meaning they oppose the current President's government and his policies,
including of course the invasion of Ukraine.
Esteban Rivera, 9
December 2024
image by Tomislav Šipek
and Tomislav Todorovic, 4 July 2023
A similar flag, but with the blue color replaced by green, was reported to have been used in Dagestan during the protests against the mobilization in September 2022. The green color is clearly borrowed from the Dagestani flag.
Sources:
[1] 2022 North Caucasian protests at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_North_Caucasian_protests
[2] Photo of
the flag at Telegram:
https://t.me/orange_east/28742
Tomislav Todorovic, 4 July 2023
