Red, white and blue colors are often found in the symbols 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 colors, but what does this term mean? How did he appear? Let's figure it out.
Pan-Slavism
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 to develop - the unification of the Slavic peoples, both culturally and politically.
The prefix "pan" from the ancient Greek language is interpreted as "unity, whole, whole", and the idea itself implied the creation of a certain community. This is how various groups arise that revive and stir up interest in national folklore, ethnography and common Slavic history, even an attempt was made to create a single language.
Of course, each nation understood this idea in its own way. For example, Russian Slavophiles dreamed of liberating the peoples close to them from control with the help of Russia.empires and create a unified 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 opponent, they also hoped for help from Russia.
What are pan-Slavic colors?
In 1848, the First Slavic Congress takes place in Prague, where all the “like-minded people” gather on the issue of uniting the fraternal peoples. Participants were able to express their positions and vision, as well as make several common decisions.
One of the decisions was the choice of a common anthem 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 have been 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, the Pan-Slavic colors became a symbol of the Polish uprising, and in 1877 they adorned the Samara banner (the symbol of the Bulgarian armed forces).
Russia has long used this set for the trade flag, and from 1914 to 1917 it was present on unofficial national symbols. The newly emerged Yugoslavia in 1918 also chose these colors for the banner.
The origins of Pan-Slavic colors
Where did the participants of the congress get such a scale for symbols? Answerthis question is very ambiguous. According to one version, the colors were taken from the banners of the French Revolution, which took place in the 18th century. Another common version says that the pan-Slavic colors of the flags came from the Russian trade banner, which they, in turn, got from Holland.
The veracity of both options is not easy to prove. At the same time, there is a fact - red, white and blue in various combinations were found in the symbols of the Slavic peoples long before the conference in Prague. Perhaps that is why they were chosen as common to all.
Roughly from the 9th to the 14th century, red and blue served as symbols of Stefan Vladislav the First. The checkerboard pattern in red and white has been on the coat of arms of Croatia in the 16th century and on the flag of Ban Jelačić since 1848. The coat of arms of Dubrovnik was decorated with red and blue stripes, and all three pan-Slavic colors were present in the symbols of the Slavonia region (only white and blue on the flag).
In medieval Slovakia, the main colors were red and white. In Slovenia, the tricolor has been present on the flag of the region of the Duchy of Carniola since the 14th century. 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 meaning of Pan-Slavic colors, like their origin, is ambiguous. According to the heraldic tradition, red is a symbol of struggle, blood and courage, white means purity and nobility, blue is a sign of heaven, honesty, loy alty and generosity.
Some countries, regions and movements still have these colors on their flags. But the order of the stripes is different. Let's see how exactly:
- white-blue-red - Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia;
- red-blue-white - Serbia, Republika Srpska (unofficial flag);
- red-white-blue - Croatia;
- blue-white-red is the flag of Crimea, the Rusyn movement in Transcarpathia.
On the modern flag of the Czech Republic, all these colors are also represented, but in a slightly different way. It has only two stripes - red and white. The triangle is painted blue, which is located at the pole and seems to cut through the stripes with one of its ends. The flag of Bulgaria differs from others in that it has a green stripe instead of a blue one.
Exception countries
Some Slavic countries do not use the triune set of colors chosen at the congress in Prague. For example, the flag of Macedonia has a yellow sun on a red background, while the symbols of Montenegro use red, yellow, blue and green.
The national colors of Ukraine are yellow and blue. White-red is present in the symbolism of Poland. Belarus has chosen green, white and red, while Bosnia and Herzegovina has chosen blue, yellow and white.
A number of countries use pan-Slavic colors on their flags, but they have nothing to do with this ideology. Among them are France, USA, Netherlands, UK.
