In Pictures Save Share Celebrating National Flag Day at the 'Russian field' festival in Moscow. [Maxim Shipenkov/EPA] By AFP, AP and EPA Published On 23 Aug 202623 Aug 2026 Russia has marked National Flag Day with official ceremonies and tightly managed celebrations across the country, as the Kremlin leans heavily on patriotic symbols amid its ongoing war in Ukraine and confrontation with the West.
In St Petersburg, officials and participants gathered under a sea of white, blue and red as the tricolour was honoured in a public event on Saturday.
State media broadcast pictures of volunteers distributing ribbons in the colours of the flag, while choirs performed patriotic songs and local authorities hailed the banner as a symbol of “unity and resilience”.
National Flag Day, established in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, commemorates the adoption of the tricolour that replaced the hammer-and-sickle emblem.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the flag has been increasingly woven into pro-government rallies, school programmes and military commemorations, reinforcing official narratives about Russia’s historical mission and defiance of Western sanctions.
Analysts say such observances are meant to bolster public support and project normality, despite economic strain and battlefield losses.
With independent voices largely sidelined, the Kremlin’s use of national symbols on days like these underscores how patriotism has become central to Russia’s political messaging at home and abroad.
A giant Russian flag is paraded during National Flag Day celebrations at the Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg. [Olga Maltseva/AFP] Advertisement Russian honour guard soldiers of the Leningrad Military District Headquarters during the changing of the guard ceremony in the Naryshkin Bastion, as part of Russia's National Flag Day celebrations. [Olga Maltseva/AFP] A T-shirt image of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at Russia's National Flag Day celebration in St.
Petersburg. [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo] Volunteers unfurl a giant Russian flag next to World War II-era artillery guns in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St.
Petersburg. [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo] The public holiday commemorates 22 August 1991, when the white, blue, and red tricolour became the official state flag, replacing the Soviet hammer and sickle flag following the August coup attempt. [Maxim Shipenkov/EPA] Russia’s National Flag Day is an annual observance dedicated to the white-blue-red tricolour. [Olga Maltseva/AFP] Advertisement Members of a young naval sailors club with a Russian national flag during National Flag Day celebrations in St.
Petersburg. [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo] Traditional costumes are worn to celebrate Russian National Flag Day. [Maxim Shipenkov/EPA] Women raise the national flag during Russia's National Flag Day celebration in St.
Petersburg. [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo] Russia’s National Flag Day is officially celebrated on August 22 every year across the Russian Federation. [Olga Maltseva/AFP]
