ABSTRACT

Before the end of Putin’s first year as president, he achieved what Yeltsin had failed to do during his entire tenure – legislation on Russia’s national symbols. Ever since 1992, Yeltsin’s decrees had dictated that these were the tricolour, the double-headed eagle and a national anthem by Glinka without words to it, but the Duma had stubbornly blocked legislation. Putin suggested a compromise, retaining the tricolour and double-headed eagle while reintroducing the Soviet national anthem, albeit with a new text.1

At the same time, legislation was adopted on the red banner of the Armed Forces and a navy banner from the tsarist era with a blue cross on a white background, the Saint Andrew Cross.2 The conciliatory gesture of restoring many of the Soviet symbols, emblems and banners to the Armed Forces in 2000 constituted a signal to the military officers that their authority in society might be about to change. Their entire legacy was no longer in question.3