Russia celebrates National Flag Day

Today Russia celebrates its National Flag Day, one of its main state holidays.

On August 22, 1991, a tri-color flag consisting of the white, blue and red bands, white colour meaning purity and nobility, the blue colour – faith and loyalty, and red – energy, will and courage, was officially hoisted over the Russian Government House in Moscow to replace the Soviet-era red flag with the hammer and the sickle.
On August 20, 1994, Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin issued a decree to declare National Flag Day an official holiday.

Russia’s flag has a centuries-old history. It appeared more than 300 years ago. For the first time, the flag of the Russian empire was established as an identification sign under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The tri-color was an official flag in Russia until the Bolsheviks annulled it in 1918 and introduced their proletarian red flag.

Today, Thousands of people dressed in white, red and blue will march down St. Petersburg's main streets today as part of the National Flag Day celebrations, RIA Novosti reports.