Red bow of the revolution. Red bow

Alexander Alexandrovich, in photographs of the revolutionary years, paintings by proletarian artists - all red bows, carnations in buttonholes, red bands on hats...

And yet, only the red banner, the red color as such, can be called a symbol of the revolution in the full sense. A bow or bandage is a derivative of the banner, a piece of fabric, beautifully decorated.

- Why red?

The origins come from the French. All three of their revolutions, starting with the first, called the Great, which began in 1789, are in one way or another connected with the red banners. The color red was associated with danger. It was both a protective sign (the color of the National Guard) and a revolutionary sign - it personified protest. At the end of the 19th century, revolutionary trends spread to Russia, and with them the fashion for red. Moreover, this color was used by both professional revolutionaries and the peasants of Penza Kandievka, dissatisfied with the terms of the Tsar’s Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom, who in 1861 hardly knew the history of the red banner.

- It turns out that the red bow is a tribute to the fashion of that time?

Yes. And anyone could wear it. Even the great princes, after the abdication of Nicholas II, put on red bows, not to mention professors and generals... It was quite comical, since contemporaries knew very well the views of these people. The confusion was general. The famous philosopher-theologian Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov has memories of when, back in 1905, he and his students, succumbing to the excitement, went to a demonstration with a red bow. And when he returned home, the professor woke up and threw away the bow.

Even a women's fashion magazine dedicated a series of articles about the use of red in dresses for ladies!

- In other words, the red bow did not mean belonging to one or another social group.

No, this is not a union of Knights of St. George. Although... Red was a kind of protective color at that time, they said: wear a red bow and you won’t be beaten on the streets. This is a sign of involvement in the general movement, a kind of safe conduct, an identification symbol - “friend or foe”.

- There are many posters where V.I. Lenin is depicted with a red bow. Did he actually wear a bow?

More than likely. For example, during the famous subbotnik on May 1, 1920, when Lenin helped the workers in the Kremlin. And a number of paintings and posters confirm the wearing of a red bow by the leader of the revolution.

POET'S VIEW

Red bow in hair

Red bow in hair!
Red bow in hair!
And my dear friend -
The sentry is on the clock.

He's in the cold wind,
Under the cold moon
At the camping tent -
Like a pillar of salt.

I'll sneak up to him quietly -
He will loudly shout: “Password!”
- It's me! - Come on in,
My King sleeps here!

This is me, my heart
This is your heart!
- This is no place for jokes,
I'll take the gun.

Don't oversleep mass
To your King!
- For the third time - and for the last time:
Come on in, I say!

A shot rings out. On the heather
If I fall, at least there's a sound.
He will look to the North,
He will look to the South,

To the East and to the West.
- Don't yawn on your watch! -
Red bow in hair!
Red bow in hair!

Marina Tsvetaeva
1918

At first, the Bolsheviks were indifferent to issues of symbolism: they used the red banner rather according to revolutionary tradition, and Soviet Russia did not have a coat of arms until July 1918.

However, with the beginning of Soviet state building, it became clear that the lack of official symbols creates many problems, especially in structures such as the army.

The initiative to approve the new state flag came from the main party bureaucrat, Yakov Sverdlov. The Bolsheviks considered him the best organizer, which is why Sverdlov headed the presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

On April 8, 1918, Sverdlov proposed recognizing the Red Banner of the Revolution as the state flag of Soviet Russia. The initiative was supported, and six days later, on April 14, a decree on the flag of the Russian Republic was published.

“Until April 1918, the official flag of the socialist republic continued to be the white-blue-red flag, adopted by the Provisional Government. Although it was almost never used, there were cases when it was hung along with revolutionary red banners,” said Stanislav Dumin, a historian and member of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, in an interview with RT.

First Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Yakov Sverdlov
RIA News

"Red" traditions

The communists, arguing for the color of the new banner, referred to medieval Persia, where the Red Banner Revolt took place at the end of the 8th century. However, it had nothing to do with the revolutionary movement, since it was exclusively religious in nature.

The red color as a revolutionary symbol became widespread during the era of the Great French Revolution, when left-wing radicals (Jacobins who came to power in the wake of the revolutionary terror of 1793-1794) actively used the red Phrygian cap as one of the emblems of the republic, and the red banner as a symbol of the blood of martyrs revolution.

In the 19th century, the red flag finally established itself as a revolutionary symbol. And since socialists and anarchists became the main revolutionaries at this time, it was they who arrogated to themselves the right to the red banner, which from now on was raised where uprisings broke out against the authorities.

In May 1831, in the Welsh city of Merthyr Tydville, workers rebelled against the English authorities. They supported the Chartist movement, opposing rising unemployment and wage cuts.

In 1832, the red flag was raised in Paris at the funeral of the prominent liberal politician General Lamarck. The scarlet banner with the inscription “Freedom or Death” became the symbol of the Republicans in the revolution of 1832 that soon followed. However, it was quickly suppressed by King Louis Philippe, and the red flag gained a reputation as a symbol of rebels.

“It was politicians who made the red flag revolutionary. Previously, the color red was widely used in the coats of arms and banners of European states - from England to Switzerland. But since the 19th century, the red flag has become a symbol of the revolutionary movement, and it was in this capacity that the Bolsheviks accepted it,” Dumin said in an interview with RT.

Symbol of revolution

During the revolution of 1848, French communists tried to make the red banner the national flag of the republic, proclaimed on February 25. But the provisional government led by Alphonse de Lamartine convinced the people of the need to preserve the tricolor banner, which became a symbol of the French nation. A compromise solution that met the demands of the radicals was a red rosette - it was added to the flag as a sign of the revolution. These events were immortalized by the artist Philippoteau, who depicted Lamartine defending the tricolor flag on the steps of the Parisian municipality in his painting.

"Alphonse de Lamartine at the Hotel de Ville rejects the red flag on February 25, 1848"
Felix-Emmanuel-Henri Philippoteau

From March to May 1871, a revolutionary government operated in Paris. The capital of France, after mass discontent with the defeat in the war with Prussia, became a stronghold of the most radical forces: the majority of deputies of the government created by the revolutionaries - the communes - were socialists and anarchists. And of course, they raised the red flag, under which they fought against the troops of the French government formed by the national assembly. But the commune was suppressed, and the scarlet banner was again outlawed.

But the red flag could be seen more and more often during labor strikes and rallies. This is how he “reached” the Russian Empire, appearing at the first political demonstration at the Kazan Cathedral in 1876. Soon the left and liberal Russian oppositionists began to use the color red. Representatives of the constitutional democrats marched under the red banner no less willingly than the socialists.

The first demonstration on Znamenskaya Square in Petrograd in front of the monument to Alexander III
Gettyimages.ru
Hulton Archive

After the formation of the RSDLP (Russian Social Democratic Labor Party), the Social Democrats, both Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, adopted the red flag. The red flag was raised during the revolution of 1905, and after the February revolution of 1917 it became the main symbol of radical change, while the state tricolor gradually faded into the background.

“It is interesting that the red flag was adopted as the state flag in , where the ruling Nazi party was considered socialist and therefore used the traditional color of the flag of the labor movement, adding to it the party emblem - the swastika. There is information that residents of German cities, surrendering to our army, tore a circle with a swastika from Nazi flags and hung red banners on their houses,” said Dumin.

However, the Bolsheviks who came to power did not have a monopoly on the red flag. If the white movement chose the tricolor rejected by the communists as its banner, then representatives of left-wing anti-Bolshevism remained faithful to the red color. In June 1918, a committee of members of the Constituent Assembly, dispersed by the Bolsheviks, met in Samara. The Social Revolutionaries, who seized leadership in it, opposed their recent allies, the Bolsheviks, under red banners.

The Izhevsk-Votkinsk workers' uprising against the Bolshevik dictatorship also took place under red flags. And the Izhevsk and Votkinsk divisions formed by the rebels were entirely in the troops of Admiral Kolchak. They adopted the symbols of the white armies, but until the end of the war they went into battle to the sounds of the “International”.

Victory Banner

In Soviet times, there was an opinion that red flags were widely used in Ancient Rus' and the Muscovite state. However, modern historians consider this to be a fallacy. Ancient banners were most often made in different colors and were richly embroidered with gold and silver thread. Red has never been the dominant color, although it was widely used because it is bright and visible from afar. In Russian chronicles there is no mention of the color of the banners of ancient Russian princes, but it is always indicated that they were decorated with images of saints. Nevertheless, experts speak of a direct connection between the red banner and Russian military tradition.

“The red color was also present on ancient Russian banners, the banner of the militia of Minin and Pozharsky, and in the 18th-19th centuries it became one of the main colors of the regimental banners of the Russian imperial army,” Dumin noted.

The red flag was initially adopted as the state flag in the RSFSR, and then, after the formation of the USSR, it became a symbol of the young Soviet republic. The spread of leftist ideology after the Second World War led to the power of communists in many countries of the world - and a number of states “armed themselves” with the red banner.

“For Russia, the red banner is, first of all, the Banner of Victory; it is in this capacity that it is included in the modern symbolism of our state. In addition, for most of our citizens, the red flag is associated with memories of the past. Often it becomes a symbol of nostalgia for the successes and achievements of the USSR,” says Dumin.

A Red Army soldier hoists the Victory Banner on the building of the defeated Reichstag
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

According to the expert, in 1990, after the elections of deputies to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the search for new symbols of Russia began.

“And the deputies turned to the white-blue-red flag, which at that time was already actively used at rallies and demonstrations as a symbol of democratic Russia. Initially, the majority of deputies were not ready to support the symbol, which until recently was considered counter-revolutionary, but after the August events of 1991, the Peter the Great flag again became the state flag of Russia,” Dumin concluded.

Redsbows. Chapter 1. January 1918 . The frosty wind takes your breath away, burning your cheeks and nose. Ivar lies in the snow, squeezing the forend of his rifle with his numb fingers, trying to take a position comfortable for shooting. Steam comes from a wet overcoat and a hot body after running, which immediately forms frost on the hair and fur hat pushed to the back of the head. His lips parted, trying to squeeze out words of mercy from his cramped larynx... The triangular bayonet entered the chest with force, easily piercing the soldier’s palm and throwing him back. The 1st Ust-Dvina Regiment also suffered considerable losses in killed and wounded in this battle. Soldiers conducted searches in the houses of townspeople, catching hidden Polish soldiers and counter-revolutionaries, who sometimes offered armed resistance. You have shown yourself to be valiant fighters for the ideals of the world socialist revolution and in fact have proven your mercilessness towards its enemies! Yes, long live the communist international!" And again three times "hurray" thundered over the square. And these words were not just flattery. The Bolshevik government made the right bet on the loyalty of the Latvian regiments, and now reaped the triumphs of its first victories. After all, if you look at it, The main victories of Lenin's new government were won on the bayonets of the Latvian riflemen. As the proverb of that time said: “The revolution in Russia was made by Jewish brains, Latvian bayonets and Russian fools. Russia became the epicenter of social upheaval, because of all the burden of revolutionary misfortunes, hunger, deaths and.” The devastation fell mainly on the shoulders of the Russian people, who were pushed together after the February revolution and the occupation of Riga by the Germans, it was in Russia that the Latvian rifle regiments with weapons and ammunition were ready to go into battle without delay, in contrast to the demoralized Russian units. in battles with the Germans, the regiments held such a huge country from west to east in their power. One company or platoon was enough for power to be in the hands of the riflemen. Everyone was afraid of them. Cities, villages, towns were subordinate to them. They did not give way to anyone and gave no quarter. Or were they afraid of responsibility for betrayal on the part of the Latvian government? * Hey guys! Forward! Chapter 2 In the Petrograd Cheka, where Ivar Skershkan was soon sent, there was not a lot of work to be done; they had to spend whole days identifying and arresting contrarians. I managed to sleep in fits and starts in the office, between the next interrogation and trips to apprehend saboteurs and looters. The enemy was approaching the Russian capital. - You are Latgalians, a small but very brave people! “You can do it,” he added, looking into Skershkan’s eyes. (lat .nar. song) Chapter 3 " As long as cesspools exist, there can be no hunger!" Chairman of the Revolutionary Tribunal J. Peters At half past two in the morning, Ivar finished his letter and got up from his chair to stretch his back and stiff legs. By nature, Skershkan was not talkative, but rather preferred to listen to his interlocutors and draw conclusions for himself, avoiding humorous conversations in the smoking room. They sometimes talked about the cases of people arrested by security officers, which Ivar dealt with on duty, sometimes listening to her opinion. After all, sometimes much was completely incomprehensible to him. He clearly heard him whisper to Meshkovsky in a hoarse voice, “Fourth floor, to the left. There is a meeting of officers and the head of the organization, Colonel Popov.” Sergei Meshkovsky was lying on his back, near the railing, with his arms outstretched. A trickle of blood oozed from his chest, collecting on the floor in a dark red puddle. He was still breathing, air whistling out of his shot lung. A little further away lay a man in a black pea coat, whose face was hidden in the darkness, but the position in which the body was located indicated that he was dead. It was only by pure chance that they were not taken by surprise by the security officers following the denunciation of the traitor. By what right? Now your wives are being raped by German soldiers in Livonia, and your parents have become their slaves. And are you okay with all this? What did these Bolsheviks buy you all with? Chapter 4 Rezhitsa is a county town in the Vitebsk province, in the east of Latvia, founded back in 1285 by knight Wilhelm von Schaurberg, master of the order. It was one of the first stone fortifications erected by the Knights Templar in Livonia. Men and women dressed in multi-colored fur coats walked along the shopping arcades, asking the price of the goods they liked. Fabrics, jugs, kegs of beer, carts with horses - there was no room to crowd the market square. All around there was a lively buzz of merry people everywhere drinking dark, intoxicating beer from large clay mugs. And often the groom spent his first wedding night in the police station while his wife danced with the guests. The so-called administratively expelled citizens. They brought freshness of thought and novelty to the measured way of life of the townspeople. Behind the house a dog was bursting with barking. After a while, heavy footsteps were heard, an overturned empty bucket clinked, and a drunk man walked out into the street, wrapped in a padded jacket, without pants, and barefoot. Chapter 5 In August 1914, the war began. Bolsheviks, international, communism, equality and other new words - sank into the young man’s head with a magical meaning, he felt that he knew something that distinguished him from all his peers. Ivar watched with envy as the train picked up speed and the dashing horsemen peering out of the carriage windows. The regiments will be led by Latvian officers who will serve to protect Latvia so that it will henceforth flourish as an indivisible part of mighty Russia. The government will take over the supply of these regiments, but as Latvian volunteer regiments and the pride of the nation, they will be under the special care and love of our people...” The wave of patriotism that washed over young people could not leave them aside from the events taking place in the country. And in May, without even informing their parents about their intentions, nine students of the gymnasium, including Ivar Skerskan, went to Riga to volunteer to join the Latvian rifle regiment. Chapter 6 Responding to the call, volunteers came to Riga from all regions of Latvia to take up arms in defense of their native land. Ivar and Valera walked around Espalanda Square and went into a cozy cafe on the old Pils street to drink a glass of beer. Having gone down the stone steps, the guys took a table away from the entrance so that no one would disturb them. There were only a few visitors in the hall; apparently wartime did not correspond to public festivities. An officer walked towards them and Ivar, greeting him, raised his hand to his cap. Freed from her dress, Dinah stepped back so that he could get a better look at her beautiful naked body. Then, throwing off the blanket, she sank onto the bed, pulling the hand of Ivar, who stood like an idol. Chapter 7 " Defeated peoples should be left with only one eye so they can cry". Bismarck. Despite fierce resistance from the Russian army, by the early autumn of 1915, German troops captured the seaport of Libau, and then the city of Mitava, which was located 40 kilometers from Riga. The opponents, lacking a clear strategic and numerical superiority, exchanged artillery bombardments and small forays into enemy positions. She was wearing an elegant light dress, neatly styled hair, her legs covered in black stockings, elegant white high-heeled shoes, and her face was carefully made up and powdered. It was felt that the girl was going to a romantic meeting or party. The city lived in anticipation of trouble. Many residents packed their things in preparation for evacuation, no longer hoping for a successful outcome of the war. There was a front ahead, and in Riga his hope and love remained, which in no case could be lost. While helping a soldier wounded in the leg get to the hospital, Ivar suddenly noticed his classmate Lenya Goldberg lying there on a stretcher. He lay covered up to his chest with a sheet through which red blood stains appeared. Leni's eyes were wide open in pain, and her lips whispered a prayer. Ivar bent over him, “Lenya, what’s wrong with you?” Where are you wounded? Going to the front line, he knew that he was defending not only his homeland, but also his love. Don’t you understand that this is a betrayal?” Daina tried to defend her opinion, “you have become a completely different person.” Not the one I fell in love with. They spoke more and more in Russian, only sometimes, feeling a lack of words, they switched to their native Latvian language. Thus, the non-party and Socialist Revolutionary delegates tried to reach some compromise with the Bolsheviks. But the Latvian Bolshevik delegates Gritsmanis and Peterson did not like such a compromise, and the very next day, March 28, ISKOLATSTREL rejected the resolution of the Congress on March 27 and demanded that members of the State Duma I, Goldmanis and J. Zalitis be deprived of confidence and removed from Latvian political activities. -Dear Ivar, you have long become so distant and cold. In everythingmthis war and your Bolsheviks are to blame, who with their empty speeches darkened your eyes andclosedears. We always had a great time together, but now, when I realized that we were going to have a child, it just became clear to me that it would be impossible to live here.I can no longer remain in this horror. I wrote to my aunt in Sweden and she is happy to accept us until the situation in Latvia normalizes and returns to a peaceful direction.This is necessary for us and our child. Ivar, I beg you to drop everything and leavewith mefrom here, for our happiness. The ship leaves this Sundayat eight pm. I'm waiting for you. Yours, Daina. Ivar read the letter several times. There was a struggle in his soul. But how could he, abandoning his weapons and comrades, mingling with the crowd of refugees, leave his homeland. A homeland that had a great future and freedom ahead of it. It was Marina, Daina's friend. Falling knee-deep into wet snow, they moved closer and closer to the Germans. But your Kaiser refused to make peace, he seeks to conquer our land. Help us and demand peace from your Kaiser. After all, we were able to force our king to abdicate the throne and create a democratic government that does not strive for war and aggression. Riga remained defenseless and could be captured by the Germans without much effort. Concerned about the current situation, the high command sent regiments and Kornilov death battalions that were not yet demoralized to Riga. These battalions were formed from old front-line soldiers who declared that they would fight the Germans to the bitter end. Chapter 8 Ivar came to his senses when he felt the strong hand of a man bending over him hit him on the cheeks. "Then he pushed Ivar to the open door - come on, lad, come quickly - and he remained in the corridor. Ivar slowly crossed the threshold of the smoky room, which was well lit by a bronze chandelier hanging high above his head. In the very center of the spacious office stood a massive desk a table. In the far corner, near the curtained window, there was a sofa upholstered in black leather, similar to the one that stood in his office. On the wall hung a detailed map of the city and a picture of a birch grove. A row of chairs lined up along the opposite wall, apparently. , meetings were being held here. A short, stocky man, dressed in a black leather jacket and wearing a sword belt, stood up to meet Ivar; a friendly smile played on his wide, smoothly shaven face, and the look of his small dark eyes pierced the guest through and through. “Are you feeling Ivar Petersovich?” he asked, holding out his hand, “I see you also got into trouble.” But who else but us, the militant vanguard of the party, should be the first to go into battle with the enemies of the revolution,” he paused, and the smile disappeared from his face, “Yes, it’s a shame that our best people died.” They were real heroes. And they did not die in vain. Therefore, it is our sacred duty to avenge them, right Skerskan? When he talked about the death of Sergei Meshkovsky, tears came to his eyes again. He knew this always smiling and cheerful joker well and could not believe that he was no longer there. So there is a traitor. I feel like he's lurking nearby. The issue of providing food for the personnel of the Cheka was resolved personally by Dzerzhinsky by requisitioning it from the bourgeoisie and peasants. Simply put, simple robbery. But the hard and dangerous round-the-clock work of the Cheka personnel required adequate nutrition, which could not be obtained with the established norms of food cards. All the indignation of the peasants against the robberies and forced mobilization resulted in riots and armed resistance, which were mercilessly suppressed by special security forces who shot at defenseless people without hesitation. After all, the workers were promised by the Bolsheviks that, having become the owners of factories and plants, they would immediately go to an economic paradise, where there would be no exploitation and poverty. Skerskan could barely stay on his feet and, among the people pushing him, completely lost the direction in which the conspirator had disappeared. People walked and walked, pushing him with their elbows and showering him with abuse. In panic and crowding, people knocked each other down, trampling under their feet, trying to hide from bullets in the front doors and courtyards. Having exhaled thick tobacco smoke, he continued the conversation: - Well, now about the main thing. How is the investigation progressing? There is someone in mind,” Mikhailov’s voice became quieter, and his gaze became tenacious and cold. Chapter 9 The leadership of the Petrograd Cheka convened an emergency meeting in the evening on current issues. Moses Uritsky gave a fiery speech to the employees, who called on the security officers to strengthen the fight against counter-revolution, suppress sabotage and tighten political repression. It's only about an hour. The traitor, in order to have time to warn his accomplices, had to leave immediately and get to the place faster than us. Right? I checked who was leaving the building during this period of time. There are only a few people, but they are not related to our department and could not have known information about the arrest. Although there are enough of them. Let them work, at least they will be of use here. Climbing the stairs to the third floor, Ivar straightened his tunic and, knocking, pushed the massive door with his shoulder. He tried to collect his thoughts and said as clearly as possible: “Comrade Paure, I made such a decision regarding these people in order to establish covert surveillance of them and identify their accomplices.” These people are minor figures, behind whom stand the real organizers of sabotage and riots. With their help I hoped to reach them. As individuals, Lyapishev, Florensky and Ruben do not pose an immediate danger, and, knowing their connections, you can put an end to the entire organization at once, as well as track arms supply channels and caches with hidden valuables. If you and the party leadership consider that I acted as an accomplice of the enemy of Soviet power, then let me be punished by a fair trial of my comrades. Comrade Dzerzhinsky said that we must be merciless towards our enemies. We must not lose our vigilance and succumb to weakness... - I ordered that the arrested Lyapisheva be brought to you for interrogation. So find out who she is? An innocent citizen or a she-wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Paure interrupted his mental torment. The impudent gaze of small dark eyes stared at Ivar with hatred. .. Through the torn dress her small breasts with small pink nipples became visible.

Original taken from tsar_ivan c Symbol of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

The holiday of the Great Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War is approaching. New paid revelations are starting to appear. It’s curious that they don’t come up with anything new, but they dig out old, rotten, rotten “news” from their graves, not even disdaining that many of them were invented back in Goebbels’ propaganda ministry, like the rest - dirty imperialist anti-Soviet propaganda from America... At the same time, everything these vysers of theirs were buried at that time.

Let's think about the problem with the symbol of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War...
Currently, the “St. George Ribbon” is being imposed on us from above as a symbol of Victory, while they are silent about the victorious people - the Soviets..., about who won, who achieved Victory with their blood and lives. The victorious Soviet people did not use the “St. George Ribbon” as a symbol of their Victory. To be convinced, just look at the photos and videos of the Victory Day celebrations. The symbol of victory on all veterans of the Great Patriotic War, on Soviet people, is red bows - a part of the Red Banner of the country and the Banner of Victory. This is a clear fact!

The symbol of Victory is the Red Banner and particles of this banner! Replacing real symbols of Victory with fictitious, religious ones is a crime against our ancestors, who liberated their country and defeated fascism. This is a crime against our history. Religious symbols under the names of fictional characters depersonalize our real Heroes, who for the most part had nothing to do with religion at that time - being Komsomol members, communists, atheists...
That's the whole reality!