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Explained: Why Russia's anti-war protesters have adopted a new national flag

The new flag has done away with the red stripe, replacing it with another white stripe at the bottom. Protesters say it is a necessary symbol, as the old one had lost all its credibility

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FP Explainers|Apr 04, 2022, 17:02:07 IST
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has entered its 40th day, is being protested by many, including several Russians who don’t agree with Vladimir Putin’s ‘special military operation’.After co-opting the sunflower as a sign of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, now protesters have adopted a new flag; they say that it was crucial for them to stand apart and show that Russians also oppose the war.And hence, comes the new ‘national’ flag without the red stripe — the red band at the bottom with has been replaced with a second white band.Birth of the new flagAs per reports published in The Guardian and a website in Russia known by the name of Meduza, the flag is the brainchild of Kai Katonina, a 31-year-old designer who lives in Berlin.When the war first broke out in February, Kai joined protests with a sign card that read, ‘No to war’. However, the designer saw the need of a unifying symbol to show that even Russians were against the war."It was clear we needed to mark ourselves as Russians against the war and not just some more people. There was a wide consensus that we need some kind of symbol," he is quoted as saying.So, he and his friends came up with the idea of a new flag — a white, blue and white striped flag.
But Kai wasn’t alone in his thinking of having a flag as a symbol against the Russian war.A Twitter user, who goes by the name of Fish Sounds, also suggested a white-blue-white flag as a means to protest the war. “The current flag, the tricolour one, is used by both the Kremlin and the Opposition, and after numerous wars, sports scandals, and multiple other unpleasant events, it’s lost its credibility.”The flag has since been embraced on social media as well as by Russian anti-war protesters on the streets.Russian poets, artists and musicians, as well as Russia’s main opposition movement, led by supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, have also backed the use of the flag.Why remove the red from the flagThe anti-war protesters say it was imperative for the new flag to be purged of the red.The new flag resembles the one originally used in Veliky Novgorod, one of the oldest cities in Russia and known as the cradle of national democracy.Moreover, the flag isn’t being used by any other country and can also be easily replicated across the world.
The Free Russia Forum in Vilnius, a leading opposition group outside the country, called the new flag a symbol “of peace and freedom”. The group, according to a report in The Guardian said: “Why is the new symbol important? Because it frees Russians of their ties to the Kremlin. By showing this flag, we – Russians – can say no to the war, no to dictatorship, and no to censorship. This isn’t the symbol of a state, it’s a symbol of people joining together.”Presently, the flag is being used at protests across the world — from Tbilisi to Cyprus. Also, people have begun using the new flag to print badges and make emojis.The flag, unsurprisingly, has drawn the ire of the Kremlin, and officials last week proposed banning it as an “extremist” symbol.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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First Published:Apr 04, 2022, 17:02:07 IST
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