Red, white and blue colors are often found in the symbolism of the Slavic states. They are present on the flags of Russia, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia, as well as other countries and regions. They are called pan-Slavic flowers, but what does this term mean? How did he appear? Let's figure it out.
Panslavism
From the end of the 18th to the 19th centuries most of the lands of Central Europe were under the control of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. It was at this time that the ideology of pan-Slavism began — the unification of Slavic peoples, both culturally and politically.
The prefix "pan" from the ancient Greek language is interpreted as "unity, all, whole," and the idea itself implied the creation of a certain community. So there are various groups that revive and stir up interest in national folklore, ethnography and Slavic history, even an attempt arose to create a single language.
Of course, every nation understood this idea in its own way. For example, the Russian Slavophiles dreamed with the help of Russia of freeing the nations close to them from the control of empires and creating a single Slavic federation. In the Balkans, the Pan-Slavists wanted to unite precisely the southern Slavs under the auspices of the Serbian nation. Since Austria was too strong an adversary, they also hoped for Russian help.
What are pan-Slavic colors?
In 1848, the First Slavic Congress takes place in Prague, where all the "like-minded" people gather to unite the fraternal peoples. Participants were able to express their position and vision, as well as make several general decisions.
One solution was to choose a common hymn called “Gay, Slavs”. Pan Slavic colors were also adopted here, which served as the basis for the national symbols of many countries participating in the congress. Since 1848, they were present on the flag of the Moravians (white-red-blue banner) and on the flag of the Slovak Revolution (red-blue-white banner with a white triangle on the right side).
In the same year, the tricolor appeared on the banners of Croatia as part of the Habsburg monarchy, and finally established itself in 1868 during the existence of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia. In 1863, pan-Slavic colors became a symbol of the Polish uprising, and in 1877 they adorned the Samara flag (a symbol of the armed forces of Bulgaria).
Russia has long used this kit for the trade flag, and from 1914 to 1917 he was present at unofficial national symbols. The newly emerging Yugoslavia in 1918 also chose these colors for the banner.
The origins of pan-Slavic flowers
Where did the congress participants get such a gamut for symbolism from? The answer to this question is very mixed. According to one version, the colors were taken from the banners of the French Revolution in the 18th century. Another common version reports that the pan-Slavic colors of the flags appeared from the Russian trade banner, which, in turn, came from the Netherlands.
The truthfulness of both options is not easy to prove. However, there is a fact - red, white and blue in various combinations were found in the symbolism of the Slavic peoples long before the conference in Prague. Perhaps that is why they were chosen as common to all.
From about the 9th to the 14th centuries, red and blue served as symbols of Stephen Vladislav the First. A chess red and white pattern was on the coat of arms of Croatia of the 16th century and on the flag of Ban Jelacic since 1848. The coat of arms of Dubrovnik was decorated with red-blue stripes, and in the symbolism of the Slavonia region there were all three pan-Slavic colors (only white and blue on the flag).
In medieval Slovakia, the main colors were red and white. In Slovenia, a tricolor from the 14th century was present on the flag of the region of the Duchy of Krajina. In Bulgaria, a set of white, green and red stripes is historical. White and red colors are also found on the historical symbols of Poland, the Czech Republic and Belarus.
Modern flags
The significance of pan-Slavic flowers, as well as their origin, is ambiguous. According to the heraldic tradition, red - a symbol of struggle, blood and courage, white - means purity and nobility, blue - a sign of heaven, honesty, loyalty and generosity.
Some countries, regions and movements still retain these colors on their flags. But the arrangement of the bands is different. Let's look at exactly how:
- white-blue-red - Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia;
- red-blue-white - Serbia, Republika Srpska (unofficial flag);
- red-white-blue - Croatia;
- blue-white-red - the flag of Crimea, the Ruthenian movement in Transcarpathia.
The modern banner of the Czech Republic also presents all these colors, but in a slightly different way. It has only two stripes - red and white. In the same blue colored triangle, which is located at the shaft and as if cuts the strip at one end. The flag of Bulgaria differs from others in that instead of a blue strip it has a green one.
Exception countries
Some Slavic countries do not use the triune set of colors selected at the congress in Prague. For example, the flag of Macedonia shows the yellow sun on a red background, the symbols of Montenegro use red, yellow, blue and green.
National colors of Ukraine are yellow and blue. White-red is present in the symbols of Poland. Belarus has chosen green, white and red colors, and Bosnia and Herzegovina - blue, yellow and white.
A number of countries use pan-Slavic colors on flags, but they are in no way connected with this ideology. Among them are France, the USA, the Netherlands, and Great Britain.