Meaning and Origin of The Colours
The three colours did not came from the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which depict Saint George wearing white (silver) armor, riding a white horse, wearing a blue cape and holding a blue shield, on a red field because these colors of the coat of arms are known since mid 19th century only . According to another version, these three colours were associated with the robes of the Virgin Mary, the holy protectress of Russia.
Yet another interpretation of the three colours is that the order in which they are placed reflects the Russian social system under the monarchy: white represents God, blue the Tsar and red the peasants. Another very common interpretation is the association of colours with the main parts of the Russian Empire: white representing Belarus ("White Russia"), blue Ukraine (or Malorossia, "Little Russia"), and red "Great Russia".
The Russian flag adhere to the colours of the greater ideas of pan-Slavism.
A different interpretation associates white with the bright future (where the colour itself is associated with brightness, while its placement at the top - with future); blue with clouded present, and red with bloody past.
Read more about this topic: Flag Of Russia
Famous quotes containing the words meaning, origin and/or colours:
“Rhyme and meter force gaps in meaning so the muse can enter.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil. They give us, now and then, some of those luxurious sterile emotions that have a certain charm for the weak.... They are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“When we reflect on our past sentiments and affections, our thought is a faithful mirror, and copies its objects truly; but the colours which it employs are faint and dull, in comparison of those in which our original perceptions were clothed.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)