Russian Federation Flag on a Flagpole

The Russian Federation's national flag is a rectangular panel consisting of three equally sized horizontal bands: white on top, dark blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The blue, white and red flag was adopted as the official flag of Russia just before the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896. Before that, the national flag of the Russian Empire was black, yellow and white, which today is used by various monarchical movements, while the white, blue and red flag has been a trade and commercial symbol since the time of Peter I.