ST. PETERSBURG, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - The celebrations of Russian Flag Day have started in St. Petersburg and its suburbs Saturday. Gatchina (a town near St. Petersburg) will host performances of military-historical clubs, an exhibition of Russian weapons and armor from the ancient times to the present day and a parade of banners of the Russian Army.
The celebrations will continue in Peterhof Monday, August 22.
The white-blue-red flag (horizontal strips from top downward) was hoisted for the first time on the Oryol warship in 1667 under Czar Alexei Romanov. Peter the Great made it the trade and commercial flag of Russia. The tricolor was made the national flag before the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II in 1896. The red banner replaced it after the October revolution in 1917.
The tricolor reappeared on Russian administrative buildings in August 1991 and was made the official Russian symbol on August 22, 1992. In 1994, August 22 was made Russian Flag Day.
