Investigation of assault flags from the collection of the Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps

Abstract

In the article author conducts research of the assault flags from the collection of Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps. They were planted on the liberated by the Soviet Army cities. At the beginning of the article the reader is informed about the meaning of the basic concepts. There aren’t differences between знамя and флаг in vexillology. Therefore, several definitions of Russian researchers were considered. Then in the article are stated that this group are flags, as it symbolizes the whole state — the Soviet Union. The author emphasizes that the tradition of planting assault flags over liberated cities appeared during the radical turn of 1942–1943, and at the same time flags began to be transferred to museums for storage. In the Artillery Historical Museum they began to arrive from 1943. In addition, their appearance wasn’t regulated. Therefore, in the article the problem of similar and different characteristics is raised. At the semiotic level, all flags carry a single code, being a symbol of liberation, victory of the Soviet Union and friendly countries over the German invaders. At the material level, due to the lack of clear regulation of the appearance, each flag has its own individual features: size, shape, presence or absence of images and inscriptions, methods of attachment to the flagpole, the context of their appearance. In conclusion the potential for reflecting the theme of the Great Patriotic War and the memory of the people in exposition and exhibition projects is evaluated.

Keywords:

flag, assault flag, the Great Patriotic war, state symbol, Artillery Historical Museum, collecting trophies