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Republic of Novgorod / Opposition to Vladimir Putin flag (Russia)

Last modified: 2022-12-31 by valentin poposki
Keywords: russia |
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opposition flag image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 March 2022
See also:

Description of the flag

Since the dissolution of the USSR and the establishment of the Russian Federation in 1991, the country has had up to date (2022) only three permanent Heads of State in the span of roughly 30+ years. Out of those three Heads of State, two (some might say even one de facto) Heads of State, since one of them, Dmitry Medvedev during his tenure (2008-2012) had Vladimir Putin as his VicePresident, who on many occasions took the role of acting President in the absence of Medvedev. In essence, aside from the official two terms of President Putin (2000-2008, acting since 1999) and 2012-2024 (which has not ended as of today), has been in office approximately 18 years plus his tenure as Vice President (2008-2012), for a total of 18 + 4 years in power.

During that period of time, several opposition parties, movements and personalities have appeared. However, depending on the elections and the situation in general of the country, there's no single official movement nor political party that is able to represent or encompass them all, let alone have a flag that distinguishes them.

During the recent events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a military campaign that started on February 24, 2022 there has been a wide public and international outrage towards Russia's handling of events. In spite of the complexity of the opposition not unified around one leader and/or party, there's a recurring concept shared by most opposing parties that democratic institutions will develop, and representatives of the current non-systemic opposition will be in power. Representatives of liberal movements in the Russian opposition use it less often or almost never.

Initially, the expression "прекрасная Россия будущего" (English: the beautiful Russia of the future) was used by the Russian politician Alexei Navalny when he spoke of the transformations he intends to carry out if he comes to power. Aleksey also tried to register a party called "Future Russia'', which was called the Progress Party when it was officially established on December 15, 2012. This party changed its denomination in November 2013, which was accepted by the Ministry of Justice on November 27, 2013, although the current logo (and flag) was in use practically between the period 2014-2018, when a new party was registered, first as "Гражданская позиция" (English: Civil Position) which in turned was accepted as the continuation of the Progress Party, which was to hold its first Party Congress in March 2018, but due to logistic problems it was delayed up until May 19, 2018 when the party "Россия будущего" (English: Russia of the future) was formally established. Due to alleged violations of Party registration by the Ministry of Justice, its official recognition has been refused several times in the period 2019-2021.

Regarding the current situation in the region, many people, especially on social media, have expressed their concern and their disapproval of the unfolding events regarding the invasion of Ukraine.

So a proposal was put forth, by a tweet (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498052584485052422) dated February 27, 2022 made by (pseudonym) "Звуки рыб" (English: Fish sounds) from a personal @AssezJeune (account https://twitter.com/AssezJeune), him/herself described as "PR specialist in the video game industry. S/He graduated from the magistracy in the art market in Paris, sick of art. Amateur heraldist, now a bit of a vexillologist" in a comment made reference to the "прекрасной парламентской России будущего" (English: beautiful parliamentary Russia of the future) not having a flag and he/her proposing one. The design is basically the same flag as the Russian Federation, only without the color red. That is: a white/blue/white flag (some argue that the removal of the red color stands for not having blood on the flag, for the deplorable actions taken by the government, while others mention it is a symbol of "desovietization" in terms of Russia wanting to become an empire again, in reference to soviet being a gathering (council) as form of government in the Russian Empire.

opposition flag  opposition flag image by Esteban Rivera, 18 December 2019

This was followed by a second tweet posting a more "elaborate" design in order not to confuse the flag with the black outline the previous one had. Then a third design came, this time having vertical stripes and based on the French flag, again without the color red and replacing it with the color white.

The designer claims that s/he actually took the idea from another person, Кай Катонина (English: Kai Katonina) as he/she states (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498307959490850821), in which the so called virtual State of the Republic of Novegrad (Novgorod) denominated "вече" (English: Veche), displays as its official symbol.

By definition, this virtual State "is a multinational representative democratic republic located in northeast Europe, along the Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean. While its history spans over a thousand years, the current government was formed in 1925 after the dual monarchy uniting Novegrad and Russia was dissolved. The current constitution dates to 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The successes Novegrad has achieved are largely the result of gradual opening occurring through the latter half of the 20th Century.

The executive branch is headed by President Mihajíle Boğeslávice Pétrou. The Cabinet of Ministers is headed by Prime Minister Aleksándre Andréiovice Rúsou, and reports to the president.

The Novegradian parliament is known as the State Assembly, and is divided into two houses. The Veche, the lower house, consists of 450 members elected on the basis of proportional representation. The Council of Nations, the upper house, consists of 90 councilors, where each province sends two councilors.

Novegrad is subdivided into 27 oblosts and five autonomous republics. These oblosts all have equal status under the Novegradian constitution. The autonomous republics, which represent ethnic groups within the republic, have an added degree of autonomy, including the right to use their own language alongside Novegradian in all matters. The republics are further divided into autonomous oblasts for purposes of administration and to balance their representation in the State Assembly, bringing the total number of oblosts to 45."
Source: http://www.veche.net/eng/state.html

Furthermore, as one can see, the designer himself acknowledges (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498064875926564866) that the background for the design was the real entity that once existed as "Новгородское вече" (English: Novgorod veche) which was the highest legislative and judicial authority in "Великий Новгород" (English: Veliky Novgorod) until 1478, when the "Новгородская республика" (English: Novgorod Republic) was brought under the direct control of the "великие князь" (English: Grand Duke) of Moscow, Ivan III. It is also important to highlight that the already existing flag (with the coat of arms) was already reported featuring the coat of arms.

Additionally he/she adds the right color description and color composition for the correct design and display, on March 3, 2022 as seen on his/her tweet (https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1499408078948683778).

This proposal gained widespread attention mainly by yet another comment on Twitter (https://twitter.com/naglfarny) by @naglfarny (Svetozar Ognev) himself a programer (and most likely native of the City of Nizhny Novgorod, a place where protests against Putin have been frequent, which
actually proposed a new flag, when he tweeted (https://twitter.com/naglfarny/status/1498666629185642506) on March 1, 2022 the basic design, as well as adding some further information on the origins of the flag. In fact, he even mentions that the colors echo those of neighboring countries (in support for Ukraine), such as Poland, Finland and "новой Беларуси"
(new Belarus).

The flag has gained widespread use by activists outside the region and has been spotted in many cities and countries across the world, mainly in Tbilisi, Cyprus, New York, Krakow, Vienna, London, Netherlands, Prague, Toronto , Berlin, Barcelona, Dusseldorf, Helsinki, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Oslo, Vilnius and Yekaterinburg.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_Vladimir_Putin_in_Russia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_of_the_Future
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_anti-war_protests_in_Russia
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://tjournal.ru/internet/552118-fotoproekt-rossiya-s-drugim-variantom-flaga
https://meduza.io/feature/
 
Esteban Rivera, 18 March 2022

Today, the news reported about some hundred Moscow Russians and White-Russians participating in a demonstration in front of the Peace Palace in The Hague. They were sporting White, Blue, White flags, which was described as follows: This is the Russian Three colours, but the red is washed away to white. The reason for this is that the demonstrators feel the colour red stands for "blood".
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 March 2022

In a short video one can see someone waving a white-blue-white flag, with the following description: "Russian soldiers fighting for Ukraine against the Russian Army driving through the Poltava region".
Corentin Chamboredon, 30 April 2022

Here is a link to more information: https://whitebluewhite.info/english
Elias Granqvist, 1 May 2022

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