The Netherlands vs Russia
Same three colors, opposite order. The Netherlands is red-white-blue at 2:3. Russia is white-blue-red at 2:3. Red on top is the Netherlands; white on top is Russia.
- Proportion
- 2:3
- Adopted
- 1937
Colors
- Bright Vermilion #AD1D25
- White #FFFFFF
- Cobalt Blue #21468B
- Proportion
- 2:3
- Adopted
- 1993
Colors
- White #FFFFFF
- Blue #0039A6
- Red #D52B1E
Look foron The Netherlands
Look foron Russia
- Red on top, then white, then blueWhite on top, then blue, then red
- 2:3 ratio2:3 ratio
- Current statute February 19, 1937Current flag December 11, 1993
Which flag is The Netherlands?
Peter the Great's Dutch Stripes, Reordered
The Dutch tricolor is red, white, and blue in equal horizontal bands at 2:3. It began as orange-white-blue, the Prince's Flag, and the orange shifted to red in the 17th century for visibility at sea. The structured adoption date is February 19, 1937. Luxembourg uses a lighter blue; that pair already has a page.
Russia's flag is white, blue, and red, also 2:3. The catalog says Peter the Great used the tricolor in 1696 after visiting the Netherlands, and that the current national flag dates to December 11, 1993. There is no official color meaning in the catalog; white-blue-red is widely read as a Slavic tricolor.
The middle stripe is blue on both. The top stripe decides it.
Telling them apart
- Netherlands: red, white, blue from the top.
- Russia: white, blue, red from the top.
- Both are 2:3. France uses the same colors in vertical bands.
Questions
Did Russia copy the Dutch flag?
The catalog says Peter the Great used a white-blue-red tricolor in 1696 after visiting the Netherlands. The stripe order is not the same as the Dutch red-white-blue.
More lookalikes
Luxembourg vs The Netherlands
Luxembourg has Light blue; Netherlands has Navy-adjacent dark blue.
France vs The Netherlands
Vertical is France; horizontal is the Netherlands.
Chad vs Romania
Chad has the darker, deeper indigo blue; Romania uses brighter royal cobalt.
Monaco vs Indonesia
Monaco is miniature and squarish (4:5); Indonesia is island-wide (longer 2:3 rectangle).