Putin congratulates Russia on National Flag Day, calls it a symbol of unity
MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday congratulated Russians on the National Flag Day and called the Russian tricolor a symbol of the country’s unity.
"Russia is a one thousand year old country and civilization. Our national flag is a symbol of our unity," Putin said in a video address.
In his words, the white, blue and red flag that was instituted as the official national flag by Peter the Great was hoisted over the country again on August 22, 1991.
"We have overcome many hardships and ordeals with this flag flying overhead, but in essence we have restored the sovereignty of our country," Putin said. "I believe that the national flag will always inspire us to move forward, to victory, and to assert the glory of Russia."
On August 22, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic passed a resolution establishing the historical flag of Russia (a white, azure and scarlet tricolor) as the national flag of the Russian Federation. In 1993, the azure color was replaced with blue and the scarlet color was replaced with red.
National Flag Day was created by a decree of then Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1994.
Photo by Sergey Guneev/POOL/TASS
