Russian Navy Ensign

Russian Navy Ensign (Андреевский флаг; Russian Pre-reform: Андреевскій флагъ) — ensign of the Navy of the Russian Empire (from 1712 to 1918), the naval flag of the Russian Federation and the banner of the Navy of the Russian Federation (since 1992).

Description


St. Andrew's flag has a white background with two blue diagonal bands, forming a slanted cross, called St. Andrew's. The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 1 / 1.5, the width of the blue band is 1 / 10 the length of the flag.

History
In 1698, Peter I the Great established the first Russian medal — the Order of St. Andrew, which is to be awarded for military exploits and the public service. When Peter I became a tsar, he started to device a flag of the Russian Navy. The symbolism of the flag is a tribute to his father, Alexey Mikhaylovich Romanov who first established a special flag for the first Russian naval vessel — three-masted frigate ‟Eagle”.

From 1692 to 1712, Peter I personally drew eight flags projects that have consistently been taken into the Navy. Description of the flag's final version by Peter I:

Original Text (Orthography and font (ru) are also original):

After the Russian revolution, the Russian Navy Ensign was changed, but it was used by the White Army up to 1924. The flag of St. Andrew was reintroduced in the Russian Navy in 1992, and is still used today.

Trivia

 * In the Imperial Russian Navy the last captains' words of encouragement for the crew before the fight were: ‟God and St. Andrew's flag are with us!” (Russian Pre-reform: «Cъ нами Богъ и Андреевскій флагъ!»), because the motto of the Russian Empire is ‟God is with us!” (Russian Pre-reform: «Съ нами Богъ!»).