The St. Andrew's flag is a historical symbol of the Russian navy. As you know, it is a white panel with the St. Andrew's Cross - two diagonal stripes of blue, forming an oblique cross. Back in 1699, Peter I approved the St. Andrew's flag as the banner of the Russian fleet. Why did he decide to opt for this particular symbol?
The Apostle Andrew the First-Called, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, was, according to legend, crucified on an oblique cross. The Apostle Andrew set out to preach in a number of countries, which fell to him by lot. Andrew the First-Called preached in Bithynia, Pontus, Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Hellas, Achaia and Scythia. He became the first preacher of Christianity on the Black Sea coast, and sailors and fishermen listened to him.
The authorities greeted him very unfriendly, and in Sinop he was brutally tortured. It is believed that the apostle visited the territory of modern Abkhazia, Adygea and Ossetia, and then returned to Byzantium, where he also continued his preaching, founded the Church. Then Andrew the First-Called was captured and died in the city of Patras, in Greece. The oblique cross, which became the instrument of the execution of St. Andrew the First-Called, was nicknamed St. Andrew's in memory of the Apostle. At the place where Andrei was crucified, a spring came. Now in Patras there is a very beautiful Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called, dedicated to the apostle.
The birth of the flag with an oblique cross is associated with the events of later centuries. In 832 the Scots and Picts of Scotland fought the Angles. King Angus II made a vow that if his army of Scots and Picts won, he would declare the Apostle Andrew the First-Called the patron saint of Scotland. Indeed, the victory over the Angles was won, which convinced the Scots and the Picts that Andrew the First-Called himself helped them. The flag of Scotland was a white oblique cross on a blue cloth.
When the personal union of England and Scotland was concluded in 1606, the oblique cross became a component of the flag of the united state. It is present on the national flag of Great Britain, if we look closely, and at the present time.
Did this flag influence Peter I? Most likely, because England by that time was already a serious sea power, one of the strongest in the world. On the other hand, Andrew the First-Called was also considered the patron saint of Russia. There was a legend that he allegedly traveled through the lands where the Russian state later appeared, and preached the teachings of Christ here. Of course, this is just a legend. After all, the Most Ancient Code of 1039 and the Initial Code of 1095, "Reading about Boris and Gleb," declare that the apostles of Jesus Christ did not go to Russia. Nevertheless, from the XI century, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called was considered the patron saint of the Russian land. Therefore, Peter's choice was quite reasonable and, moreover, very accurate.
Peter I perfectly understood the meaning of symbols for strengthening the unity of the state, for raising the morale of the army and navy. But such symbols were required that would make any Russian person in awe of them. Symbols associated with saints were best suited for this role. Andrew the First-Called was one of the most revered Christian saints in Russia, and Peter understood this perfectly well when in 1699 he approved the flag with a blue oblique cross on a white cloth as the flag of the Russian fleet.
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It is known that the emperor, who paid great attention to the construction and strengthening of the fleet, personally worked on the sketch of a new flag. He tried at least eight options. They tried to use them as naval flags, until in 1710 the sovereign opted for the final version - that very white flag with a blue oblique cross. Nevertheless, only the Ship Charter of 1720 determined the exact characteristics of the flag - "The flag is white, across it there is a blue St. Andrew's cross, with which he christened Russia."
Already in the 18th century, St. Andrew's flag was covered with the glory of naval battles, in which the ships of the Russian fleet participated under it. Numerous Russian-Turkish wars, expeditions to distant countries - all this took place for the fleet under the St. Andrew's flag. Naturally, among sailors, veneration of the Andreevsky flag has become a real tradition. He turned into the main shrine of the Russian naval sailor, his pride.
Usually the St. Andrew's flag, raised above the ships, was a four-meter panel. This size was not accidental - a large banner in the wind made a noise that frightened the enemy and was a kind of psychological weapon. One can imagine how the Andreevskie banners of Russian squadrons, which included a large number of ships, “roared”! Indeed, it was not surprising for the enemy to be afraid of such a frightening roar.
As the Russian fleet developed, its participation in more and more new wars, in 1819 the admiral's St. George flag was adopted, which was the same St. Andrew's flag, in the center of which was a red heraldic shield, and on it was the image of St. George the Victorious, also considered one of the patrons of the warriors of the Russian Land. It was considered a great honor to receive such a flag for the ship's crew. It was awarded for special military merits, for example, for the courage shown in the defense of the St. Andrew's flag during a naval battle.
By the way, the St. Andrew's flag as a shrine of the fleet was supposed to be defended not for life, but for death. The sailors died, but refused to lower the sacred symbol of the Russian fleet. Only twice in history have Russian ships voluntarily lowered the St. Andrew's flag. The first time the case was on May 11, 1829. During the next Russian-Turkish war, the frigate "Raphael", commanded by the captain of the 2nd rank Semyon Stroynikov, collided with a Turkish squadron of 15 ships. The captain did not want his sailors and officers to die, so he decided to lower the flag and hand over the ship.
Emperor Nicholas I was very jealous of military glory. Therefore, when it became known about the shameful act for the fleet, the frigate "Raphael" was ordered to burn if it was suddenly captured by Russian sailors. Captain 2nd Rank Semyon Stroinikov was demoted to ordinary sailors, stripped of awards and titles. The emperor forbade Semyon Stroynikov to marry, so that he would not give Russia "the offspring of a coward." True, by that time Semyon Stroynikov was already the father of two sons. And they, interestingly, not only entered the naval service, but both rose to the rank of Rear Admiral.
As for the frigate "Raphael", it really suffered the fate prescribed by Emperor Nicholas I. 24 years after its surrender to the Turks, during the Battle of Sinop, the frigate was burned. The emperor's order was carried out by the famous Admiral Pavel Nakhimov. The name "Raphael" was forbidden to be given to the ships of the Russian fleet for ever and ever.
The second sad story took place during the Battle of Tsushima. Then the Second Pacific Squadron, faced with the superior forces of the Japanese fleet, was forced to surrender. Rear Admiral Nikolai Ivanovich Nebogatov, who served as the junior flagship of the squadron and replaced the wounded commander, Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky, decided to surrender. He also hoped to save the lives of the remaining officers and sailors. Andreevskie flags were lowered on ships that surrendered to the Japanese.
Rear Admiral Nebogatov, who decided to surrender the squadron, managed to save the lives of 2,280 Russian sailors - officers, conductors and sailors. All these were living people - someone's fathers, brothers, sons. But such a peculiar act of the admiral was not appreciated by the staff commanders in St. Petersburg and the authorities of the Russian Empire, who considered the concern for saving the lives of their subordinates a banal cowardice. When, after the Peace of Portsmouth, Rear Admiral Nebogatov was released from captivity and returned to Russia, he was stripped of his rank, put on trial and sentenced to death in December 1906. But by a higher decree, the rear admiral's sentence was changed to a ten-year imprisonment in the fortress, and after another 25 months he was released, having received a pardon.
But there was also a third case in the history of the Russian fleet when the Andreevskie flags were lowered on Russian ships. In 1917, the Andreevsky flag ceased to be the flag of the Russian fleet, and in 1924 it was voluntarily lowered on the ships of the Russian squadron in the port of Bizerte on the African Mediterranean coast. This was due to the fact that France, which then owned the port of Bizerte, officially recognized the Soviet Union and, therefore, Russian ships were simply forced to obey the orders of the French colonial authorities.
One very interesting story is connected with the revolutionary events and the St. Andrew's flag. In 1920, the minesweeper Kitboy, commanded by the Estonian lieutenant Oskar Fersman, left Estonia, fearing capture by the Bolsheviks. The commander of the minesweeper ordered to raise the Andreevsky flag, after which he headed through Europe towards the Crimea, intending to join the troops of Baron Wrangel.
However, when the ship arrived in Copenhagen on February 27, where the British squadron was located, its command ordered Fersman to lower the St. Andrew's flag. The commander of the British squadron stressed that London no longer recognizes the St. Andrew's flag. But Lieutenant Fersman refused to obey the orders of the British, stressing that he was ready to engage in an unequal battle, although his ship had only two guns.
It is likely that this controversial situation would have been resolved by an armed conflict and the death of Russian sailors in an unequal clash with the English squadron, but Empress Maria Feodorovna, who, by a happy coincidence, was at that moment in Copenhagen, intervened. She turned to the British leadership and obtained not only a further pass for the ship, but also its supply of coal and food. As a result, "Kitoboy" nevertheless reached Sevastopol, and then, with the rest of the Wrangel squadron, departed for Bizerte. This was one of the last battles of the sailors of the old Russian fleet for their holy St. Andrew's flag.
In the Soviet Union, a completely different flag was adopted for the Navy, built on the basis of traditional Soviet symbols - a sickle, a hammer, a red star. In the history of the use of the Andreevsky flag, more than seventy years of delay came, overshadowed by very unseemly events. During the Great Patriotic War, the St. Andrew's flag began to be used as a symbol of the "Russian Liberation Army" of General Andrei Vlasov, who fought against the Soviet Union on the side of Nazi Germany. The Andreevsky flag was depicted on the chevrons of the ROA military uniform and the traitors who wore it on their hand committed crimes against their own people, serving the Fuhrer - the bloody executioner of the Russian land. Nevertheless, knowledgeable people after the war perfectly understoodthat Vlasovism could not darken the centuries-old history of the Andreevsky flag as a symbol of the heroic Russian fleet.
In January 1992, the government of sovereign Russia made a decision to revive the St. Andrew's flag as a symbol of the Russian Navy. Thus, a tribute was paid to the centuries-old traditions of the Russian fleet. On July 26, 1992, the flags of the USSR Navy were hoisted for the last time on the ships of the Russian fleet, after which the anthem of the Soviet Union sounded, to the sounds of which they were lowered and St. Andrew's flags were raised to the anthem of the Russian Federation instead. Since that time, the Andreevsky flag has been the official flag of the Russian Navy and is hoisted on all ships and vessels that make up its composition. Symbols with the St. Andrew's flag are used in the uniform of the personnel of the Russian Navy.
With all due respect to the flag of the USSR Navy and the heroic deeds that Soviet sailors performed under it during the Great Patriotic War, in military campaigns and post-war operations, one cannot but agree that the return of the Andreevsky flag as a symbol of the Russian fleet became a real revival of traditions. and today Russian sailors again appreciate and love the St. Andrew's flag, remain faithful to it. As the Russian captains said when their ships entered the battle - "God is with us and the St. Andrew's flag!"
Author: Ilya Polonsky