Flag of Novorossiya

The blue-red proposed flag of the self-proclaimed confederation of Novorossiya (or New Russia) is a variant of the battle flag which was adopted on 24 May 2014, with the addition of the coat of arms.

Novorossiya
UseNational flag
Proportion2:3
Adopted31 May 2014[1]
DesignA Saint Andrew's Cross of blue with a thin white border, on a red field.
Variant flag
UseNational flag
Proportion2:3
Adopted13 August 2014 (Proposed)
DesignA tricolor of white, yellow, and black
Variant flag
UseWar flag
Proportion2:3
Adopted31 May 2014 (As national flag)
13 August 2014 (As battle flag)

A white-yellow-black tricolor was presented on 13 August 2014 by Oleg Tsarev as a potential state flag.[2][3] This resembled an upside-down Romanov flag, which was the national flag of the Russian Empire from 1858 to 1883.

Novorossiya is an unrecognised confederation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, claiming the territory of the respective Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. On 20 May 2015 the leadership of the Federal State of Novorossiya announced the 'freezing' of the confederation 'project'.[4]

Battle flag

The battle flag is based on the naval jack of the Imperial Russian Navy. Aleksandr Chalenko, who worked as a political journalist in Kiev, described the flag and explained its symbolism in an item published by Izvestia on 20 March 2014:

"It's a red flag with a blue Saint Andrew's cross. The flag of the Russian Navy. Of the Navy, which played a prominent military role in the emergence and establishment of the historical Novorossiya."[5]

On 15 May 2014 the Russian on-line newspaper Vzglyad noted that the then Governor of the Donetsk People's Republic, Pavel Gubarev, had announced the start of voting for a flag of the proposed state of Novorossiya.[6] As of 11 July  2014 the Novorossiya website invited its readers to vote for one of eleven proposed flag designs for New Russia – with Option 1 the red-blue Saint Andrew's saltire.[7]

Following the proposition of the white-yellow-black tricolour as the national flag, the saltire was then adopted as the battle flag of the republic,[8] while a variant with the coat of arms is in use as de facto national flag since.

Flags of separatist movements in Ukraine

State flag

Each of the member states of the Novorossiya confederation also has a national flag of its own. Both sport pan-Slavic colours and bear resemblances to the flags of Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Donetsk People's Republic
Pro-Russian protests in Donetsk on 7 April 2014. The DPR first flag variant is seen displayed amongst other flags such as the Russian and Donetsk Oblast ones.

The flag of the Donetsk People's Republic claims to be based on the flag of Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic. The black is commonly thought to represent the Black Sea or the coal industry in the Donbass region. The blue is thought to represent water and red is freedom. However, there is no proof that such flag was used by the DKSR, which used the red flag as symbol. The original DPR flag also featured a coat of arms of the republic that said "Donetsk Rus'" (Донецкая Русь) in the centre. It was identical to the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk Republic political party, while also retaining the words "Donetsk Republic" (Донецкая Республика) in Russian. A more simplified white double-headed eagle variant was used more commonly by initial pro-Russian protesters since 7 April 2014 and then by separatists of the Donbass People's Militia.

By October 2014, a second main flag which carried the words "Donetsk People's Republic" (Донецкая Народная Республика) was created with an updated doubled-headed eagle that looked less similar to the Russian coat of arms. This flag appeared to be more prominently used by the state, even appearing on ballot boxes during the 2014 Donbass general elections.[9] After 2017, the current flag is adopted by the state and military forces, which is a simplified black, blue and red tricolor.

  • First flag of the Donetsk People's Republic, based on the Donetsk Republic political party.[10][11]
  • First flag variant displayed on 7 April 2014.
  • Alternative state flag variant between April-June 2014.
  • Second flag of the Donetsk People's Republic (October 2014-2017)[12]
  • Current flag of the Donetsk People's Republic[13]

Luhansk People's Republic

Not much is known about the flags of the Luhansk People's Republic. The first flag featured a similar design to the flag used by the Donetsk People's Republic, the main differences being that the top stripe was light blue or cyan instead of black, it featured a different coat of arms, and it contained the words "Lugansk Republic" (Луганская Республика) in Russian. The second was adopted at some point in October 2014, with an abbreviation of the state's local name replacing the aforementioned text. On November 2, 2014 the Republic adopted a new flag that resembled the previous flags but lacked the coat of arms and had a brighter red stripe.

  • First flag of the Luhansk People's Republic displayed on May 9, 2014.[14][15][16]
  • First flag variant of the Luhansk People's Republic, used mostly by the state before October 2014.[17][18]
  • Second flag of the Luhansk People's Republic (October 2014-2017).[19][20][21]
  • Third flag of the Luhansk People's Republic (2017).
  • Official current flag of the Luhansk People's Republic.[22]

Similarity with the "Dixie flag"

Some have noted that the flag's design resembles the Confederate States of America's navy jack and battle flag, known as the "Dixie flag".[23][24][25] Pavliv explains that he had simply stumbled upon the flag online somewhere, and that the leader of the New Russia Party, Pavel Gubarev, later picked it up.[26] However, Gubarev has stated that the inspiration for the flag came from banners used by Cossacks in the 18th century.[26] According to Alexey Eremenko of the Moscow Times, no Cossacks ever used a flag resembling the one chosen.[26]

See also

References
  1. Политические партии Украины (vexillographia.ru)
  2. Lenta.ru: Tsarev presented the new flag of Novorossiya
  3. LifeNews: Oleg Tsarev presented the new flag of Novorossiya
  4. Russian-backed 'Novorossiya' breakaway movement collapses, Ukraine Today (20 May 2015)
    (in Russian) The "New Russia" is closed, Gazeta.ru (20 May 2015)
  5. Chalenko, Aleksandr (2014-03-20). "Что такое Новороссия?" [What is Novorossiya?]. Izvestia. Gazeta Izvestia. Retrieved 2014-07-10. Это красный флаг с синим Андреевским крестом. Флаг российского флота. Флота, который сыграл выдающуюся военную роль в деле появления и утверждения исторической Новороссии. [It's a red flag with a blue Saint Andrew's cross. The flag of the Russian Navy. Of the Navy, which played a prominent military role in the emergence and establishment of the historical Novorossiya.]
  6. Жителям юго-востока Украины предложили выбрать флаг Новороссии [The inhabitants of the south-east of Ukraine are invited to choose a flag for Novorossiya]. Vzglyad (in Russian). Деловая газета «Взгляд». 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-07-11. Народный губернатор Донбасса Павел Губарев объявил о начале голосования за флаг Новороссии – государства, которое планируется создать, объединив юго-восточные земли Украины. [...] На сайте информационно-аналитического портала «Новороссия» представлены 11 вариантов будущего флага государства. [The People's Governor of the Donbas, Pavel Gubarev, announced the start of voting for a flag for Novorossiya, a state planned to be founded which would unite the south-eastern area of Ukraine. [...] The website of the informational-analytical portal 'Novorossiya' presents 11 variants of the future flag of the state.]
  7. "Let's select a flag for Novorossiya" (in Russian). Информационное агентство "Новороссия". 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-11. Предлагаем вам выбрать флаг Новороссии — независимой территории юго-востока бывшей Украины. [We invite you to choose a flag for Novorossiya - the independent territory of the south-east of the former Ukraine.]
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-08-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Incumbent Donbass leaders Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky win elections - final results". RT. November 2, 2014.
  10. "Symbolism of the Donetsk People's Republic". openDemocracy.
  11. "Donetsk County (Ukraine)".
  12. "DPR Approved National Symbols (Russian title: ДНР утвердила национальную символику)".
  13. "Symbols and the Hymn of the Donetsk People's Republic (Russian title: Символика и Гимн Донецкой Народной Республики)". DNR.ru (Official Donetsk People's Republic site). 30 June 2018.
  14. "Lugansk People's Republic (Ukraine)". Flags Of The World.
  15. Lugansk. May 9, 2014
  16. "'Luhansk People's Republic' announces total mobilization". Kyiv Post. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  17. "Ukraine: Lugansk People's Republic leader steps down". Ruptly. 14 August 2014.
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/20140720085656/https://novorossia.su/ru/node/4049
  19. "Официальный сайт Луганской Народной Республики". Archived from the original on 2014-11-03.
  20. "В Луганске вновь зажжен Вечный огонь". Lugansk Online. October 31, 2014. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014.
  21. "Donbass election day ushers in 'the real ceasefire'". RT. November 3, 2014.
  22. http://lug-info.com/documents/one/4
  23. Babiak, Mat (22 May 2014). "Welcome to New Russia". Ukrainian Policy. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  24. "Ukraine News One: 'Novorossiya' flag appears uncannily like 'Dixie' (VIDEO)". kyivpost.com. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  25. "Ukrainian Rebels Channel U.S. Confederates". The Moscow Times. June 4, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  26. Eremenko, Alexey (9 June 2014). "Ukrainian Rebels Channel U.S. Confederates". The Moscow Times.
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