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The chapter provides semiotic analysis of national flags in Russia in historical perspective and describes legal regulation of the use of flags as state symbols on federal and federal entities’ levels. Contemporary white-blue-red national flag, Soviet red flag and imperial black-yellow-white flag are analyzed in different contexts, as official state symbols and as unofficial symbols of different political movements; the evolution of their meaning with time is shown. Subjects of the Russian Federation also have their flags, which reflect their aspiration for self-identification and sovereignty within the limits of common political identity of the nation. The right to establish their own official symbols is a part of their constitutional status, and they realize this right for the construction of their regional identity within the semiotic space of Russia as a whole.There is no unity in approaches to the fixation of the legal status and description of flags on the level of federal entities, though main legal rules concerning the use of flags and subordination between the national flag and the flags of federal entities are stipulated by the federal law. Most of regional flags have been created since 1991, because these regions had no status of federal subjects before that. By their visual representation the flags differ depending on the cultural and historic characteristics of the regions. Some of them resemble the regional coat of arms, some of them try to follow the federal model by using bars of different color, some include religious symbols.Legal regulation of the use of flags includes constitutional standards, statutory standards and also provisions of criminal and administrative law on desecration of flags and on inappropriate use of the national flag, which may humiliate or publicly demonstrate disrespect for it. The judicial practice in application of these standards is, however, confusing, because the provisions lack legal certainty.

Depuis toujours, les sociétés humaines se déterminent et s’identifient au moyen de symboles. Les drapeaux sont aujourd’hui la forme la plus visible de cette identification. Les couleurs, les dessins qu’ils comportent nous apportent une lecture précieuse susceptible de nous éclairer sur le passé, le présent et le devenir des peuples. Les drapeaux nous offrent en même temps un précieux auxiliaire permettant de comprendre la direction de l’actualité mondiale. La fin de l’URSS en 1991 et la multiplication des drapeaux sur son territoire nous donne une parfaite illustration de cette perpétuelle quête humaine, à savoir son besoin de s’identifier et la justification de sa raison d'exister ici-bas. La preuve nous est en même temps donnée du caractère indispensable de la vexillologie dans la compréhension des sciences humaines. Human societies have always defined and identified themselves through symbols. Today, flags represent the most visible form of this identification. The colors and designs they feature offer valuable insights into the past, present, and future of peoples. At the same time, flags serve as a valuable tool for understanding the direction of global events. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the proliferation of flags across its former territory provide a perfect illustration of this perpetual human quest—namely, the need for identity and the justification of one's reason for existence. This also demonstrates the indispensable role of vexillology in understanding the human sciences.

Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress of Vexillology (ICV 3), Boston, Massachusetts, 5-7 September 1969

An eagle with two heads was one of the most famous political symbols in Europe for hundreds of years. It was the emblem of the Holy Roman Empire, and later of the Austrian and Russian Empires, and is still in use in Balkan countries and in the Greek Orthodox Church. The importance of the double eagle in so many places, as a royal and later as a national symbol as well as a focus of nationalism and loyalty, has kept this strange image prominent for centuries in the imagination, and in the collective unconscious, of people in many nations, and has figured in such incidents of sovereignty as coins, seals, flags, regalia and military uniforms, but also in civil arts and handicrafts in many media.

CD ROM with vector coats of arms and flags of Russian regions (republics, oblasts, krais, fedearl cities and districts -- subjects of Russian Federation) / Диск включает векторные изображение утвержденных гербов и флагов субъектов Российской Дедерации

Альбом для занятий с детьми 5-7 лет [colophon] / Album for study with children 5-7 years

For the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the flags of all federal subjects of Russia—Republics, Oblasts, Krais, and more—are documented in one volume in English. Based on a paper which won the Captain William Driver Award for scholarly achievement in vexillology, this book belongs on every flag-lover’s bookshelf. Its 89 articles cover current and merged federal subjects. Each article provides the description of the territory’s flag, including its proportions, year of adoption, designer(s), history, and meaning. A locator map places the territory in Russia, with grayscale illustrations of the flag and arms in each article. (81 of 83 current subjects have flags—8 more merged subjects are covered.) 32 pages of full-color plates illustrate the flags and arms described in the articles in beautiful detail. All of the federal subjects are identified in English, Russian, and transliterated Russian. An extensive analysis of the flags explores their design, colors, symbolism, and meaning. This work was originally presented at NAVA's 42nd annual meeting in 2008; the author won the Captain William Driver Award for the best paper. For this volume of Raven, she was awarded the coveted Vexillon by the Fédération internationale des associations veillologiques in 2011 for the most important contribution to world vexillology in the previous two years.

La fin de l'Union soviétique en décembre 1991 a constitué un bouleversement majeur de notre période contemporaine. L'un des changements les plus visibles, et pour cause puisqu'il concerne les drapeaux, aura été le renouvellement complet des couleurs et des symboles dans cet immense espace. Loin d'avoir surgi ex-nihilo après l'abaissement du drapeau rouge, les couleurs de la Russie ont un long parcours, fait autant d'heures de gloire que de secrets. Voyage initiatique dans le blanc-bleu-rouge russe par un spécialiste du sujet. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 marked a major upheaval of the contemporary era. One of the most visible changes—and understandably so, given that it concerns flags—was the complete renewal of colors and symbols across this vast region. Far from having emerged out of nothing following the lowering of the Red Flag, Russia’s colors possess a long history—one filled as much with moments of glory as with secrets. An initiatory journey into the Russian white, blue, and red, guided by an expert on the subject.