Moscow: In an address on Monday, marking the National Flag Day, the President of Russia said, “The Russian flag inspires Russians to “military glory” and represents their adherence to “traditional values”.
Around six months after calling for a full-scale invasion of the neighbouring nation of Ukraine, which has pushed Russia into historic political and economic isolation, Putin vowed that Moscow would continue charting its own course in the international arena.
In a video address, President Putin said that, “Moscow is a strong, independent global power. On the international stage, we are always committed to pursuing only those policies that meet the crucial interests of our Fatherland.”
Without mentioning or noting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin said the national flag would inspire Russian citizens to “military glory.”
Putin said that, “Russia’s white-blue-and-red-flag shows our faith in our traditional values that we will not give up.”
These values, he added, “inspire us to care for and defend our Motherland and never permit any foreign hegemony or diktat.”
Russia’s ‘Flag Day’ has been observed every year on Aug. 22 since then-President Boris Yeltsin introduced it in 1994.
The Russian tricolor itself was restored on Aug. 22, 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and its national symbol, a golden hammer and sickle against a red background.
Some Russian anti-war activists have begun using a white-blue-white flag design following the Ukraine invasion, removing the red stripe in opposition to what they describe as its association with “blood and violence.”
The white-blue-white flag also resembles that of the medieval Novgorod Republic, considered by many to be the cradle of Russian democracy
