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# “White Blue White,” the New Flag of Russia’s Anti-War Movement
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/new-flag-of-russias-anti-war-movement/
- Published: 2022-04-10T20:01:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:38:09.000Z
- Description: Flown around the world, the banner eliminates the red stripe of Russia’s official flag, thought to symbolize “blood, war, and aggression.”
- Author: Elaine Velie
- Tags: News, Flags, Protest, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine Invasion, War in Ukraine, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:22 (2021, 2022, part 2)

From [Toronto](https://www.instagram.com/direct/inbox/?ref=hyperallergic.com) to [Prague](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-russians-prague-protest-against-war-ukraine-2022-03-26/?ref=hyperallergic.com), Russians living abroad have adopted a new flag to protest the war in Ukraine. The white and blue banner eliminates the red stripe of the official flag of the Russian Federation, interpreted by some anti-war activists as symbolizing blood.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2022/04/2022-3-26---antivoennyi-miting-3.jpg)

An anti-war protest in Gothenburg, Sweden. The poster depicts a mural by an unidentified artist that has become popular online. (used with permission)

[Online groups](http://facebook.com/thewhitebluewhite/) have emerged to promote the new flag. An [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/thewhitebluewhite/?ref=hyperallergic.com) page dedicated to it has nearly 8,000 followers, and the movement has its own website, [whitebluewhite.info](https://whitebluewhite.info/english?ref=hyperallergic.com).

"The white-blue-red flag, which is currently used by the government of the Russian Federation, became a symbol of blood, war, and aggression throughout the world," a statement on the website reads. "We, Russian citizens who do not support the authoritarian regime and its military, cannot use it."

The flag [emerged in late February](https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/03/16/a-new-symbol-of-russia-s-anti-war-movement?ref=hyperallergic.com), a week after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine. On February 27, it appeared in a viral [tweet](https://twitter.com/AssezJeune/status/1498052584485052422?ref=hyperallergic.com) by user @AssezJeune, describing it as "de-Sovietized, without blood, the cult of war, and imperialism." In a Facebook [post](https://www.facebook.com/itsgonnabeokai/posts/10227954032741739) on February 28, Kai Katonina, a UX designer who lives in Berlin, listed the reasons for the flag's adoption, citing the erasure of the "blood red stripe."

Katonina also invoked the banner's similarity to a [flag adopted in Belarus](http://theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/22/how-the-two-flags-of-belarus-became-symbols-of-confrontation?ref=hyperallergic.com) in 2020 to protest the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, and its likeness to the flag of medieval Novgorod Republic, which Katonina described as a "democratic city-state."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbUmXObLIdq/

The [Novgorod Republic](https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/Novgorod?ref=hyperallergic.com), which flourished between the ninth and 15th centuries, was indeed more democratic than many medieval societies (although closer to an oligarchy by today's standards), and its [proto-democratic legacy](https://www.interpretermag.com/when-russia-was-a-democracy-novgorod-before-the-muscovite-occupation/?ref=hyperallergic.com) is invoked in much of the online discussion surrounding the new peace flag.

But criticism of the flag has also emerged on social media. One Instagram user [said](https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca4AMcggoS0/?ref=hyperallergic.com) its resemblance to the Novgorod banner is a detriment to its anti-war messaging, because the [dukes of Novgorod](https://www.history.com/news/vikings-in-russia-kiev-rus-varangians-prince-oleg?ref=hyperallergic.com) invaded Kyiv in the late ninth century. Others have [pointed to](https://twitter.com/occono/status/1508076524854984707?ref=hyperallergic.com) the flag's symbolic value as insufficient in the face of bloodshed.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2022/04/kirapopova.jpg)

The "peace flag" and a Ukrainian flag fly side by side in Toronto. (photo by Kira Popova; courtesy Russian Resistance, Toronto)

The Russian Federation's current red, white, and blue flag was [adopted in the 19th century](https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Russia?ref=hyperallergic.com) and readopted after the fall of the Soviet Union (when the red hammer and sickle flag was used).

On March 4, the Kremlin [outlawed anti-war protests](https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/07/russia-criminalizes-independent-war-reporting-anti-war-protests?ref=hyperallergic.com), announcing a 15-year jail sentence for anti-war demonstrators. A Moscow court also [limited access to Facebook and Instagram](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-21/russia-bans-facebook-and-instagram-under-extremism-law?ref=hyperallergic.com), labeling them "extremist."

While Russians abroad can promote the new peace flag online and fly it in public, [more than 15,000](https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/03/22/more-than-15000-russians-have-been-arrested-in-anti-war-protests?ref=hyperallergic.com) Russians on the home front have been arrested for protesting the war in Ukraine. However, many have found alternate ways to protest, such as placing [crosses for the dead in Ukraine](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/05/zelensky-urges-tougher-western-response-to-russian-war-crimes-a77209?ref=hyperallergic.com), [putting up posters](https://theconversation.com/russias-feminists-are-protesting-the-war-and-its-propaganda-with-stickers-posters-performance-and-graffiti-179989?ref=hyperallergic.com), [spray-painting graffiti](https://wagingnonviolence.org/2022/03/facing-severe-repression-russians-turn-to-antiwar-graffiti/?ref=hyperallergic.com), and [writing anti-war messaging on paper bills](https://www.newsweek.com/russians-anti-war-messages-cash-protest-putin-ukraine-invasion-1692658?ref=hyperallergic.com).

As of yesterday, April 7, the [United Nations reported](https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2022/04/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-7-april-2022?ref=hyperallergic.com) 3,838 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24\. Today, a rocket strike on a Ukrainian train station killed [at least 50 people](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/08/kramatorsk-train-station-strike-civilians-ukraine-russia/?ref=hyperallergic.com), and last week, Russian forces' atrocities against civilians in Bucha summoned [accusations of war crimes](http://cnn.com/2022/04/05/europe/bucha-ukraine-russian-occupation-reality-intl-cmd/index.html?ref=hyperallergic.com).