Pan-finnic colors (Russia and Finland, 1920’ies)

Last modified: 2002-12-20 by
Keywords: pan-finnic | blue: cornflower |
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• Overview

• Russia

It was agreed sometime in the twenties that sky/cornflower blue was the Finnic colour and should be used on all Finnic flags. This idea must have been agreed outside the Soviet Union, while the Russian Civil war was still going on, i.e., before the Soviets had the opportunity to impose their vexillological hegemony. Finns, Karelians, Estonians, Vepsi, Komi, Ingrians and Livs all use skyblue as do the Nenets, Yamal Nenets, the Mari and Mordvins, (which is why these last two have a different shade of blue in their otherwise Russian colours).
James Oates, 13 Aug 1999 and 15 Aug 1999

Who made this agreement, anyway? Considering the peoples listed, it was surely someone or something connected with Russia. Some pan-finnic connection of the White forces?... It sure seems to me that such agreement was very poorly enforced over the time and eventually forgotten — especially when one notices the progressive darkening of the Finnish flag itself (1918, 1920 and 1978)...
António Martins, 15 Aug 1999

Cornflower blue (as ambiguous as it is) is used to describe the estonian flag blue shade, which is not a light shade (anymore?).
António Martins, 15 Aug 1999

The initial discription of the blue in the first Estonian constitution specifically says that it should be the same blue as the Finnish Cross.
James Oates, 15 Aug 1999

The current Karelian flag is supposedly derived from the Karelo-Finnish SSR flag, which was light blue — in what might be nothing but a coincidence in respect of the above agreement. The historical Karelian cross-flag of green, black and red, doesn’t agree with the above sky blue agreement, but it was adopted in 1920, before that very same agreement. In 1930 a new Karelian flag was proposed (for the exile government, naturally), with a white field with a blue cross bordered in yellow. This might have been the refered sky blue, since it was clearly a variation of the finnish flag.
António Martins, 15 Aug 1999

• The current reported (and dubious!) Nenetsian flag is certainly light blue,
• as also the Yamal-Nenetsian (both new and former).
• Taymiria, inhabited by name-sake Dolgans (non-finnic) and Nenets (finnic), and also by Nganasanians (finnic), has a light blue flag.
• Khantia-Mansia's flag is also partly light blue.

• Udmurts have a red / white / black flag.
• Saami/Lappish, as also both Komias (proper and Perm’s) do include blue in their flag, but it is dark blue.
• As for Mordvian and Mariy, their flags are defined by law as following the russian colors and the shade of blue is objectively difined or described as dark.