The white-blue-white flag () is a symbol of opposition to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

that has been used by Russian anti-war protesters. It has also been used as a symbol of opposition to the current government of Vladimir Putin by several personal Internet accounts, and the

Freedom of Russia Legion The Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL, ; ; abbr. ''ЛСР'', ''LSR''), also called the Free Russia Legion, is a Ukrainian-based Paramilitary, paramilitary unit of Russian citizens, which Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposes the Russia u ...

Russians against war protest in Prague 05

Anti-war flag of Russia and the state flag of Ukraine

Creation and symbolism

Several people created the idea of the white-blue-white flag shortly after the

started on 24 February 2022. Kai Katonina, a Berlin-based

user experience design User experience design (UX design, UXD, UED, or XD), upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research" (also known as UX Design Research), defines the experience a user would go through when interacting with a compa ...

er, and a Russia-based art manager with the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Fish Sounds" (, ), also known as "", are each credited with having created the flag. It was first used on social media on 28 February 2022, and has been flown by Russian expatriates at various

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

protests. One of the stated reasons for replacing the red stripe of the

flag of Russia The national flag of the Russia, Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 ...

by a white one is to remove the association with "blood and violence". , one of the flag's creators, stated: "The red on the modern Russian flag is associated not just with blood, but with its military power and authoritarian strength. So, this is not just the removal of blood, but, most importantly, the removal of the cult of

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

and violence. WBR is a historical authoritarian flag introduced by Tsarist Russia. It's also associated with militarism, with Russian imperial cores." The flag is not used by all anti-war activists and opposition parties, and several opposition activists (such as

Maria Motuznaya Maria Sergeyevna Motuznaya (; born August 26, 1994) is a Russian blogger and activist. She came to public attention in 2018 when she explained on Twitter why she was on Russia's official list of extremists and terrorists. Early life Motuznaya was ...

) have criticized AssezJeune's reasons for removing the red stripe.

Usage and reactions

Use of the flag began shortly after the start of the invasion, and the flag began to garner wide appeal among protesters who oppose the war. The white-blue-white flag has an official website, where it is described as the "Flag of the Wonderful Russia of the Future" and "A symbol of freedom and peace"; the website includes background information in multiple languages. The flag has not been associated with representing a single organization exclusively, and several anti-war organisations have demonstrated support for it as a broader symbol of anti-war sentiment and unity. The similarity and analogy with the

white-red-white flag The white-red-white flag is a historical flag used by the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918 before Western Belarus was occupied by the Second Polish Republic and Eastern Belarus was occupied by the Bolsheviks (two years later becoming the ...

that has been widely used during the

2020–2021 Belarusian protests The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass Demonstration (political), political demonstrations and protests against the Government of Belarus, Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government ...

is often listed as one of its advantages, as is the similarity to the flag of

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...

, in which the government of the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

had a reputation for developing democratic governance. The white-blue-white flag has been used at anti-war protests in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, Georgia,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany,

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria,

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, Switzerland,

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

, Cyprus,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Netherlands, and

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Latvia. In addition, some media have reported that the flag has also been used by protesters in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

, Russia, although this claim has not been supported by any evidence. On 31 March 2022, the head of the

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

commission on foreign interference, Vasily Piskarev, appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office to ban the white-blue-white Russian flag as extremist, since "this symbolism is used in protests against the military operation in Ukraine not only in Russia, but also in other countries". Members of the

(), composed of Russians who

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

from the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

to Ukraine, have been seen wearing patches of the flag on their

military uniform A military uniform is a standardised clothing, dress worn by members of the armed forces and Paramilitary, paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful ...

s. The white-blue-white flag (as well as other symbols of Russia) was banned during the

Equality Parade Equality Parade () is an LGBT community pride parade held in Warsaw since 2001, usually in May or June. It has attracted at least several thousand attendees each year; 20,000 attendees (the largest number of any year prior to 2017) were reporte ...

in Warsaw, held alongside . KyivPride published a statement about possible provocations, labeling any intentions to "display Russian flags of any color" a provocation and an unacceptable step meant to advance the Russian agenda. On 21 August 2022, the manifesto of a hitherto unknown partisan group within Russia,

National Republican Army The National Republican Army (; abbreviated ENR), colloquially known as the Army of the North ( Italian: ''Esercito del Nord'') was the army of the Italian Social Republic (, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945, fighting on the side of Nazi Germany durin ...

(NRA) (), endorsed the adoption of the white-blue-white flag. The manifesto was issued following the car bomb assassination of

Darya Dugina Darya Aleksandrovna Dugina (; 15 December 1992 – 20 August 2022), also known under the pen name Daria Platonova (), was a Russian journalist, political scientist, and activist. She was the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, a far-right politic ...

and read aloud by exiled Russian politician

Ilya Ponomarev Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (, ; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian people, Russian-Ukrainian people, Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Russian State Duma from 2007 to 2016. He was the only member of the State Duma not to vote in fa ...

on his video outlet "February Morning" (), and published via its affiliated

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

-based news service "Rospartisan" (). The white-blue-white flag motif is employed by February Morning on the air and in its social media profiles. On 22 May 2023, the Freedom of Russia Legion posted videos showing the flag being lifted with balloons flying in the center of Moscow following the Belgorod Oblast incursion, which they claimed credit for.

In culture

On 16 September 2022, rapper

Oxxxymiron Miron Yanovich Fyodorov (; born 31 January 1985), known by the stage name Oxxxymiron, is a Russian rapper and former CEO of the Booking Machine Talent agent, booking agency, as well as a co-founder and former member of the record Record label, ...

released an anti-war video for the song " Oyda", which refers to the white-blue-white flag: "Our flag has white snow and a blue river (and that's it!)"

Gallery

Flags

File:Flag of Russia.svg, The current flag of Russia, featuring the red stripe and darker blue File:Flag of Russia (1991–1993).svg, The flag of Russia used between 1991 and 1993 featured a lighter shade of blue File:Flag of the Freedom of Russia Legion.svg, Flag of the

File:Flag of Belarus (1918, 1991–1995).svg, The former state flag of Belarus was adopted by oppositionist parties and was used in the

Flags in use

File:Protests of Russians in Yerevan.jpg, Protests of Russians in Yerevan against the war in Ukraine on 17 April 2022 File:White-blue-white flag in Tbilisi.jpg, White-blue-white flag in

, Georgia on 2 March 2022 File:Berlin Russian rally in support of Ukraine asv2024-02-25 img16.jpg, Protest of Russians in exile in Berlin, February 2024

The graphic style in use

File:White Blue White Protest Sticker in Germany 2022.jpg, Anti-war protest sticker in Germany, August 2022

References

External links

* ; in Russian: * ; in Russian: {{Russian opposition Russian opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine Flags of Russia Opposition to Vladimir Putin Protests in Russia Flags introduced in 2022 2022 establishments in Russia Activism flags Flag controversies

Creation and symbolism

Usage and reactions

In culture

Gallery

Flags

Flags in use

The graphic style in use

See also

Anti-war topics

Pro-war topics

References

Further reading

External links