The flags of Russia, the UK and the USA

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The Flag of the United Kingdom is called the Union Flag or THE UNION JACK. In 1603, King James I of England united England and Scotland. Then in 1801, there was the union with Ireland. Now the flag combines the emblems of the three countries (England, Scotland and Northern Ireland) united under one monarch. Wales is not represented in the flag because at the time the flag appeared in 1606, Wales was already united with England.

The Union Jack is a combination of the crosses of three patron saints of the country:

• the red cross of Saint GEORGE for England on a white background;
• the white diagonal cross of Saint ANDREW for Scotland on a blue background;
• the red diagonal cross of Saint PATRICK for Ireland on a white background.

The United States of America

The American flag is known as THE STARS AND STRIPES. It consists of fifty stars which represent the fifty states. Thirteen red and white horizontal stripes (seven red and six white) stand for the original thirteen States that were united in 1776.

The first flag was called The Grand Union Flag. It combined the flag of Great Britain with the thirteen stripes. It showed that these first thirteen states were British colonies. After the War of Independence, all thirteen states became free and the flag changed. The British flag in the corner was replaced by stars. Every time a new state entered the Union, a star was added.

So now today's flag shows the thirteen stripes for the original number of states in 1776 plus the 50 stars which represent today's total.

The Russian Federation

The Russian flag is sometimes called the IMPERIAL FLAG. It consists of three equal stripes of white, blue and red. The first flag of this design appeared more than 300 years ago. Peter the Great adapted the flag from the National flag of the Netherlands. Later a black two-headed eagle on a golden background was added to the flag of Russia. The flag existed until the revolution in 1917. In the nineties, with the democratic changes, the three-colour flag was restored again. On 21 August 1991, the flag was officially adopted by the Russian President and the Russian Parliament.

In Russia the colours of the current flag symbolise:

• white — frankness and generosity;
• blue — honesty and wisdom;
• red — courage and love.

Ответ: Flags of Russia, the UK, and the USA are described.

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