Badposter rates every country flag

[badposter]

Flag of Russia

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 11 May 1696 at sea, 7 May 1883. Readopted on 22 August 1991. Current shade of blue and ratio adopted on 11 December 1993.
Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple tricolor.
Rule 2: There has been at least one state in what is now Russia since around the 7th century, but the Tsardom of Russia, founded in 1547, was the first state to call itself "Russia", which from its founding to 1700 expanded heavily: it originally only included what is now northwestern Russia, and in 1700 it included almost all of Russia, plus parts of eastern Ukraine and Belarus, along with a small part of Kazakhstan. It was in the late 17th century that Russia adopted its tricolor for use at sea. There are two stories about the origin of the flag, and both have it be based on the Dutch flag:

The earliest mention of the flag occurs during the reign of Alexis I, in 1668, and is related to the construction of the first Russian naval ship, the frigate Oryol. According to one source, the ship's Dutch lead engineer Butler faced the need for the flag, and issued a request to the Boyar Duma, to "...ask His Royal Majesty as to which (as is the custom among other nations) flag shall be raised on the ship." The official response merely indicated that, as such issue is as yet unprecedented, even though the land forces do use (apparently different) flags, the tsar ordered that his (Butler's) opinion be sought about the matter, asking specifically as to the custom existing in his country.[8]

A different account traces the origins of the Russian flag to tsar Peter the Great's visits to Arkhangelsk in 1693 and 1694. Peter was keenly interested in shipbuilding in the European style, different from the barges ordinarily used in Russia at the time. In 1693, Peter had ordered a Dutch-built frigate from Amsterdam. In 1694 when it arrived, the Dutch red-white-and-blue banner flew from its stern.[9] Peter decided to model Russia's naval flag after this banner by changing the sequence of colors.

A 1695 Dutch flag book shows Russia's flag with a crowned double-headed eagle with a shield on its breast.
In 1703, the tricolor was adopted for use by merchant vessels in rivers.
After Russia beat Sweden in the Great Northern War, tsar Peter I (known as "the Great") was proclaimed Emperor of All Russia in 1721, and the Russian Empire was founded. At its height, it included what is now Russia, Finland, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, eastern Poland, Moldova, Georgia (the country, not the US state), Armenia, Azerbaijan, the countries of Central Asia (minus Afghanistan, if you count it as Central Asia), and Alaska (sold in 1867 to the United States).
In 1858, Russia adopted a new flag for use on land. It was an horizontal tricolor. The top two stripes were black and yellow, and came from the imperial coat of arms, which featured a crowned double-headed black eagle on a yellow field. In the bottom was a white stripe, which existed to make the flag different from Austria's.
The 1858 flag was unpopular. Russia's sea flag was allowed to be used on land. By the time Nicholas II was crowned emperor, the tricolor was Russia's only national flag.
There was a revolution in Russia in 1905, after which Russia adopted a constitution and the State Duma was established.
Russia was part of the Triple Entente in WWI. The various flaws of the Empire, along with the fact that the war was very unpopular, led to two revolutions in 1917: the first revolution was the February Revolution (which in the current Gregorian calendar actually happened in March: Russia used the Julian calendar at the time), which overthrew the monarchy and established the Russian Provisional Government. The second revolution was the October Revolution (which actually happened in November in the Gregorian calendar), in which the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian Provisional Government, and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which had a red flag with the letters РСФСР (RSFSR, an initialism for the name of the country) in gold, and a yellow border separating the canton from the rest of the flag, was established. Afterwards the Russian Civil War began. The two main sides in the war were the Reds (which supported Communism) and the Whites (which opposed it), but there were loads of other factions. It was a complex war.
After the October Revolution, there were democratic elections. The Socialist Revolutionaries won 380 out of the 703, while the Bolsheviks won only 168. This led to the meeting of theassembly being delayed until January 1918, when it was dissolved.
During the Russian Civil War, many countries declared independence from Russia. By the early 1920s, Russia had managed to reconquer most of the Empire's territory after the sale of Alaska, excluding Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, what is now western Belarus and Ukraine, and Moldova (all of those were later annexed by the Soviet Union in WWII, excluding Finland, whic lost parts of its east to the Soviet Union after the Winter War and the Continuation War . In 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, which created the Soviet Union, was signed. The Russian SFSR had most of the territory and population of the union, and thus was the dominant republic.
In 1937 the flag of the Russian SFSR was changed so that the text, previously in Vyaz script, was changed to be written in a plainer script. The border was also removed. The flag was changed again in 1954 so that the text would be removed and replaced with a hammer and sicle and a red star (with a gold border), and a vertical blue stripe would be added to the hoist side. The hammer symbolized industrial workers, the sicle symbolized peasant, the red star symbolized communism and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the red symbolized revolution, and the blue symbolized Russian skies, seas, and rivers.
The Russian SFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignity on 12 June 1990. Exactly one year, a democratic presidential election was held in Russia. On 22 August 1991, the Russian SFSR adopted the tricolor, although with a lighter shade of blue and a 1:2 ratio.
On 8 Decmber 1991 the Belavesha Accords were signed by the leaders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. They declared the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Russian Parliament ratified the accords on 12 December, leaving Kazakhstan as the only republic of the Soviet Union (they left on 16 December). The name of the Russian SFSR was changed to "Russian Federation" on 25 December 1991. The next day, the Soviet of Nationalities, the upper house of the Supreme Soviet, declared itself and the Soviet Union dissolved.
Russia's current flag was adopted its current flag and constitution on 12 December 1993.
Rule 3: White, blue, and red. It's not a bad color combination, but I think it's overused.
Rule 4: This flag has no text or emblems.
Rule 5: This flag led to the establishment of red, white, and blue as the Pan-Slavic colors, which is why some Slavic countries (such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia) use those colors. I believe that this flag, despite having colors used a lot, is distinctive, if only because Russia is powerful and well known.
Part 2
Russian Empire (1858-1883)

Spoiler

Now that Austria no longer uses this flag, I think this flag would be distinctive. However:

The flag is currently being used by Russian ultra-nationalists and monarchists

So I don't like it much.
Russian SFSR (1918-1937)

Spoiler

It was text, but I do like how it looks like.
Russian SFSR (1937-1954)

Spoiler

The previous looked much better. This text is bad.
Russian SFSR (1954-1991)

Spoiler

Like most of the other flags adopted by the SSRs in the 1950s, it's not very distinctive.
1991-1993

Spoiler

The light blue makes the flag more distinctive than the current imo.
Part 3
A boring red, white, and blue tricolor. I don't like it much.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Rwanda

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 25 October 2001
Part 1
Rule 1: A child may not be able to draw the exact number of rays in the sun, but as I have written many times, recognizabilty is more important than perfection.
Rule 2: In the 11th century, a kingdom was founded in Rwanda. Its rulers were mostly Tutsi, while the majority of the population was Hutu.
In 1884 the Rwanda became part of the German colony of German East Africa. The monarchy was kept. German East Africa was at first administered by the German East Africa Company, which had a white flag with a black cross, whose canton was red with the Southern Cross (which was diagonal, and with white stars) (German East Africa also included Burundi and Tanganyika, all of which were in the Southern Hemisphere). After the company failed to put down a rebellion in Tanganyika without German and British help, German East Africa began to be administired directly by Germany in 1891. The colony began to use the flag of the German Empire afterwards.
In 1916, during WWI, Belgium occupied Rwanda (and Burundi). After the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the League of Nations territory of Ruanda-Urundi, administered by Belgium, was established. It included both Rwanda and Burundi (which was also a kingdom). Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory in 1946. Rwanda adopted a red, yellow, and green (those are the Pan-African colors) vertical tricolor in 1959.
Both the Germans and Belgians supported the Tutsi over the Hutu, leading to a revolution against the Tutsi fro 1959 to 1962. Many Tutsu fled Rwanda after the revolution.
In 1961 there was a referendum on whether Rwanda should keep its monarchy. The choice to abolish the monarchy won, and Rwanda became a republic. The same the referendum was held, a big black "R" was added to the middle of the flag, to make the flag different from Guinea's (previously, the only difference between the two flags was that Guinea had a different shade of red).
Rwanda gained independence on 1 July 1962 (the same day as Burundi). Simmering tensions between Hutu and Tutsi led to a civil war from 1990 to 1993, and the most well-known historical event in Rwanda: a genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutu-led overnment and paramilitaries, which led to deaths of 20% of Rwanda's population in 1994.
Paul Kagame became Rwanda's president in 2000, and he remains so. In 2001, Rwanda's current flag was adopted, as the previous flag became associated with the genocide.
In Rwanda's flag, the blue symbolizes happines and peace, the yellow symbolizes economic development, the green symbolizes the hope of prosperity, and the sun symbolizes enlightenment.
Rule 3: Blue, yellow, and green. I love the colors of this flag.
Rule 4: This flag has a sun, which is simple.
Rule 5: I don't know of any flag whic can be confused with Rwanda's.
Part 2
1959-1961

Spoiler

It's not a distinctive flag.
1961-2001

Spoiler

Text on flags is bad. The current looks much better.
Part 3
A good-looking, distinctive flag with good colors. I love it.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Ratio: 2:3 (normal)
Adopted: 19 September 1983 (independence of the country)
Part 1
Rule 1: It's a simple flag. A child could draw it from memory.
Rule 2: The island have been inhabited since around 2900 BC. The first Europeans to discover the islands were Christopher Columbus and his crew, in 1493. The islands were later fought over by the Spanish, the English, and the French, and there was a genocide of the natives. Nevis finally became an English (later British) colony in 1630, and Saint Kitts followed in 1713, after the Treaty of Utrecht. The economy of the islands was originally based on tobacco, but after Virginia replaced it as the main tobacco-producing region, its economy was based on sugar production. African slaves were brought to the islands, and their descendants remained the majority of the population after the UK abolished slavery in 1834.
From 1833 to 1883 the islands were part of a British colony known as "Leeward Islands", along with other islands in the Caribbean. From to 1883 to 1958 the islands, along with Anguilla formed the British colony of Saint Cristopher and Nevis, known as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla after 1951.
In 1958 all of the British islands in the Caribbean, excluding the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands, joined together to form the West Indies Federation, dissolved in 1962 due to internal problems, and Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was re-established. It had a flag which was a green (symbolizing Saint Kitts), yellow (symbolizing Nevis), and blue (symboizing Anguilla) tricolor, with a black palm tree with three leaves symbolizing destiny, humility, and pride in the center.
Saint Christopher-Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla gained internal autonomy in 1967. Afterwards, Anguilla, disliking the rule of Saint Kitts over it, declared independence and expelled Saint Kitts' police. This led to Anguilla becoming a separate British overseas territory in 1980.
Saint Kitts (Kitts is a shirtened form of Christopher) and Nevis became fully independent, and adopted its current flag, on 19 September 1983.
In the flag, the green symbolizes the country's fertile land, the red symbolizes the fight against slavery and colonialism, the yellow symbolizes the sunshine enjoyed by the islands, the black symbolizes the African majority in the country (90.4% of the country's population is black, and the two white stars symbolizes the islands themeselves, along with hope and liberty.
The flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis uses the colors of the Pan-African flag. Despite not being an African country, its population is mostly descended from African slaves.
Rule 3: Green, yellow, black, white, and green. I really like the colors of this flags.
Rule 4: This flag has two stars, which are simple.
Rule 5: I don't know of any flag whic can be confused with this one.
Part 2
Saint-Cristopher-Nevis-Anguilla (1967-1980), Saint Cristopher and Nevis (1980-1983)

Spoiler

A nice flag, but I prefer the current, and besides this flag symbolizes Anguilla, which is not part of the country.
Part 3
A distinctive flag with nice colors. It's good.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Saint Lucia

Ratio: 1:2 (normal)
Adopted: 1 March 1967 (current version adopted in 2002)
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw triangles from memory.
Rule 2: After the island was discovred by Europeans (late 15th or early 16th centuries), the English (later British) began fighting over it a lot, to the point that the island was known as "the Helen of the West Indies", after Helen of Troy. Like the other islands in the Caribbean, the economy was based on sugar production and slavery.
The islands finally became a British colony after the 1814 Treaty of Paris. Saint Lucia became part of a British colony known as Windward Islands in 1833. The next year, slavery was abolished in Saint Lucia and the British Empire. Saint Lucia joined the West Indies Federation in 1958, remaining in it until the federation was dissolved in 1962. Saint Lucia became a separate colony afterwards, and became autonomous in 1967. The day it became autonomus, it adopted a flag similar to the current, but the black triangle was wider and the yellow one was smaller.
Saint Lucia gained independence on 22 February 1979, and changed its flag so that the current triangle would be adopted and the shade of blue made darker. The current shade of blue (cerulean) was adopted in 2002.
The blue symbolizes the sea which surrounds the country. The black and white symbolize black and white people, and harmony between them, the yellow symbolizes sunshine and prosperity, and the two triangles symbolizes the Pitons, two volcanic plugs (the bigger one known as Gros Piton, and the smaller one as Petit Piton) in the island.
Rule 3: Blue, white, black, and yellow. I love the colors of this flag.
Rule 4: This flag has to triangles, which are simple.
Rule 5: This flag is distinctive.
Part 2
1939-1967

Spoiler

As you probably already know, I don't like British colonial flag.
1967-1979

Spoiler

I like both this flag and the current.
1979-2002

Spoiler

I personally prefer the current shade of blue.
Part 3
A good, distinctive flag. I like most Caribbean flags.

 

[badposter]

Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Ratio: 2:3 (though some say it has a 7:11 ratio. The flag in this post has a 2:3 ratio).
Adopted: 21 October 1985
Part 1
Rule 1: A child could draw diamonds from memory.
Rule 2: The islands were discovered by European in the late 15th or early 16th centuries, but settlement was prevented by the native Caribs until 1719 (when the French founded Barrouallie). Before that time, shipwrecked or escaping African slaves would go to the islands and intermarry with the natives, creating a community of "black Caribs", or Garifuna people.
Saint Vincent, like other islands in the Caribbean, was fought over by the English/British and French (along with two wars against the Black Caribs). Also like other islansds in the Caribbean, the economy was based on slavery and sugar production.
The islands finally became British after the 1783 Treaty of Versailles, and slavery was abolised in 1834, like in the rest of the British Empire. A legislative concil was established in 1925 and universal adult suffrage was established in 1951.
Like most other British colonies in the Caribbean, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became part of the West Indies Federation in 1958, before the federation broke up in 1962. The islands became autonomouson internal affairs in 1969, and gained independence on 27 October 1979. The first flag of the islands had stripes of the same color and position as the current, but otherwise it had a lot of difference. The stripes had the same size (in the current, the yellow stripe is biger than the other), and were separated by white fimbriations. In the center, there were no diamonds, but rather the country's coat of arms, with a breadfruit leaf behind it. In March 1985 the flag was slightly changed: the white stripes were removed. The new flag only lasted until 21 October 1985, when the current flag was adopted.
In St Vincent and the Grenadines' flag, the diamonds represent the country's nickname of "gem of the Antilles", and are arranged in a V shape to symbolize St. Vincent. The blue symbolizes the islands' sky and sea, the yellow their sands, and the green their vegetation.
Rule 3: Blue, green, and yellow. There are only two other countries (Rwanda anf Gabon) which use this pretty good color combination.
Rule 4: Diamonds are simple.
Rule 5: This flag is distinctive.
Part 2
1907-1979

Spoiler

A British colonial flag. Also has text and complex people. It's Bad.
1979-1985

Spoiler

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines_%281979-1985%29.svg/800px-
Flag_of_Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines_%281979-1985%29.svg.png

The current is muc better. This flag is pretty ugly. I also have the same opinion on the March 1985 flag.
Part 3
Most former British colonies iin the Caribbean have great flags.
Except for Dominica. But its flag at least has purple.