Incorrect depictions of the flag of Mariy-El (Russia)

Last modified: 2005-05-07 by antónio martins
Keywords: error |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

• Wrong flags
• Reported color specifications
• Incorrect reverse in use

• Mariy-El
• Russia

Wrong flags

It was asked if there was the colour purple on the Marii-El flag. The answer is no. It is also to be noted that flags without ornament (#1) never existed, as well as flags with a dark red line in the middle of the white stripe (#2).
Pascal Vagnat, 13 Sep 1997

Yet another case of dark red being refered as “purple” in translations from Russia, after the already known Chuvashian case.
António Martins, 13 Mar 1999

In our files we have information that the sun and the inscription were replaced by a dark red line in 1993.
Ralf Stelter, 27 Jun 1999

This flag, in medium blue, is listed under number 88 at the chart Flags of Aspirant Peoples [eba94] as: «Mari El (Marsi) [Cheremisses] - Central Russia».
Ivan Sache, 15 Sep 1999

This flag, even if it ever existed, in not in current use: Only the 1992 flag is used locally in Mariy-El. I know because Iʼve been there...
António Martins, 27 Mar 2000

Reported color specifications

These Pantone shades (PMS 186C, PMS 285C and PMS 032C) were given by Jiři Tenora in its Le cabinet des drapeaux communique... [cdd].
Pascal Vagnat, 20 Sep 1999

An article in Jiři Tenoraʼs bulletin Le cabinet des drapeaux communique... [cdd] informs quite plainly that the maryan flag goes in the colors PMS 186C, PMS 285C and PMS 032 (plus white).

These specific shades are though nowhere to be found on the relevant legal texts, and in loco observations doesnʼt confirm the shade of blue — PMS 285 is a bit greyish and real maryan flags has the same medium blue usual for the russian national tricolor (whithin the usual variation).

Checking them against other sources, I seem to know now that these Pantone values are Jiři Tenoraʼs personal proposal to correlate the vexillological (subjective, relative) color coding to a chromographic standard (objective, absolute): The values above are simply his way to say "R+", "B" and "R".

Of course I agree that some absolute references should be given when possible, and that subjective discriptions should be anchored somewhere in the objective reality, provided the adequate caveats are given.

But this article in [cdd] didnʼt say «cloth and photo analysis points to these PMS values», nor even «the flag laws use subjective descriptors we feel to be ideally represented by these PMS values». On the contrary, it makes be