Russia’s regional flags

Eighty-three federal subjects, from ethnic republics with their own national tricolours to oblasts flying bears, tigers and camels.

83 flagsShort notes, not sourcedSuggest a correction

Almost none of these flags existed before 1991. When the Soviet Union broke up, Russia’s regions each adopted a flag of their own, and they split roughly two ways: the ethnic republics chose tricolours and national symbols, while the oblasts and krais mostly put their pre-revolutionary coats of arms on a coloured field.

This list covers the 83 subjects Russia had before 2014; it leaves out Crimea, Sevastopol and the regions of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed since, which most of the world doesn’t recognise.

Test yourself: Russian Federal Subject Flags →

Republics

Russia’s ethnic republics, most with flags in their own national colours.

Adygea
Twelve gold stars and three crossed arrows on green, from a 19th-century Circassian banner.
Altai Republic
White over a light blue stripe.
Bashkortostan
Blue, white and green, with a gold kurai flower.
Buryatia
Blue, white and yellow, with the Buddhist soyombo symbol.
Chechnya
Green, white and red, with a band of ornament at the hoist.
Chuvashia
A red tree-of-life emblem on yellow.
Dagestan
Green, blue and red stripes.
Ingushetia
A red solar sign on white, between green stripes.
Kabardino-Balkaria
Blue, white and green, with the twin peaks of Elbrus in a disc.
Kalmykia
A white lotus on yellow: Kalmykia is the only Buddhist-majority region in Europe.
Karachay-Cherkessia
Blue, green and red, with Elbrus in a disc.
Karelia
Red, blue and green stripes.
Khakassia
Blue, white and red, with a solar emblem on a green stripe at the hoist.
Komi
Blue, green and white stripes.
Mari El
A bear with a sword on a shield, on white with an ornamental border.
Mordovia
Red, white and dark blue, with an eight-pointed solar sign.
Sakha (Yakutia)
A white sun on sky blue, over thin stripes of white, red and green.
North Ossetia-Alania
White, red and yellow, the same tricolour South Ossetia flies across the border.
Tatarstan
Green and red, divided by a thin white stripe.
Tuva
A yellow triangle in a white Y, for the two rivers that meet to form the Yenisei.
Udmurtia
Black, white and red, with a red eight-pointed solar sign.

Krais

Altai Krai
The krai’s arms on red, with an ear of wheat on a blue stripe at the hoist.
Kamchatka Krai
A volcano over white and blue.
Khabarovsk Krai
Blue and green, split by a white-edged green triangle.
Krasnodar Krai
Blue, crimson and green bands, with the krai’s arms.
Krasnoyarsk Krai
The krai’s arms on red: a lion holding a sickle and spade.
Perm Krai
A white cross on red and blue, with the bear from Perm’s arms.
Primorsky Krai
A Siberian tiger in the canton, above a white-edged blue diagonal.
Stavropol Krai
A white and gold cross with the krai’s arms.
Zabaykalsky Krai
Green and red, with a yellow triangle at the hoist.

Federal cities

Moscow
St George slaying the dragon, on crimson.
Saint Petersburg
Crossed anchors and a sceptre on red: the city was founded as a port and a capital.

Autonomous okrugs and oblast

Jewish Autonomous Oblast
White with a thin rainbow stripe of seven colours, recalling the menorah’s seven branches.
Chukotka
A white triangle with a Russian-flag roundel, on blue.
Khanty-Mansi
Nenets
White and blue, with a band of traditional ornament.
Yamalo-Nenets
Sky blue over a band of ornament.

Oblasts

Mostly the oblast’s coat of arms on a field of one or two colours.

Amur Oblast
Red over blue, split by a white wave: the Amur river.
Arkhangelsk Oblast
The blue saltire of the Russian navy’s St Andrew ensign, with the oblast’s arms.
Astrakhan Oblast
A crown and a curved sword, from the arms of the old Astrakhan khanate.
Belgorod Oblast
Bryansk Oblast
Its arms still carry a hammer and sickle.
Chelyabinsk Oblast
A white camel carrying a load, from Chelyabinsk’s arms, recalling the old caravan trade.
Irkutsk Oblast
A babr, the Siberian tiger, holding a sable in its jaws.
Ivanovo Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
A castle over red, yellow and blue.
Kaluga Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast
Kirov Oblast
Kostroma Oblast
A gold galley on blue.
Kurgan Oblast
Kursk Oblast
Leningrad Oblast
The oblast’s arms over a white and blue wave.
Lipetsk Oblast
A gold linden tree, the lipa that gives Lipetsk its name.
Magadan Oblast
A blue band of waves under red, with the arms in the canton.
Moscow Oblast
Murmansk Oblast
The northern lights over the Arctic, on blue.
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Novgorod Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast
Two sables holding a loaf, split by a white and blue cross.
Omsk Oblast
A wavy blue stripe for the Irtysh river, on red and white.
Orenburg Oblast
Oryol Oblast
Penza Oblast
Pskov Oblast
A golden leopard under the hand of God, from Pskov’s old arms.
Rostov Oblast
Blue, yellow and red, the colours of the Don Cossacks.
Ryazan Oblast
Sakhalin Oblast
A white map of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
Samara Oblast
Saratov Oblast
Smolensk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Tambov Oblast
Tomsk Oblast
Tula Oblast
Crossed swords and hammers: Tula has made weapons for over 300 years.
Tver Oblast
A gold throne with a crown, on red and yellow.
Tyumen Oblast
Ulyanovsk Oblast
Vladimir Oblast
The arms on red, with a hammer and sickle at the hoist.
Volgograd Oblast
The Motherland Calls, the war memorial on Mamayev Kurgan.
Vologda Oblast
Voronezh Oblast
Yaroslavl Oblast
A black bear carrying an axe, from the legend of the city’s founding.

On the globe

Russia