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If you want something done right, sometimes you have to just do it yourself. And sometimes you have to research it, discuss it with several other people and then pay someone to do it for you. After reading about the controversy over Russia's continued use of the hammer and sickle on the "Banner of Victory" flag used at the annual May 9 Victory Day ceremonies, I thought it would be pretty cool to find a replica of the banner to display in my home library. I figured it would be a nice addition to some of the other Soviet-themed items in the room. Because I've done a fair amount of business with some antique dealers in both the U.S. and Russia, I had a few contacts to ask about my idea. But everywhere I turned, my contacts advised that not only had they had never heard of such a replica, they didn't know how to acquire one or if that was even possible.
My replica of Victory Banner #5
The raising of the Victory Banner was commemorated in a legendary photo by Yevgeny Khaldei. The particular flag that I was seeking was "Victory Banner #5" which was one of the flags that was raised by Red Army soldiers over the Reichstag to signal the fall of Berlin during the final days of World War II (known in the former USSR as "The Great Patriotic War".) An inscription is included on Victory Banner #5 by one of the military subdivision responsible for the capture of the Reichstag. The Cyrillic writing reads, "150th Rifle, Order of Kutuzov 2nd class, 'Idritskaya' Division, 79th Rifle Corps, 3rd Shock Army, 1st Byelorussian Front." The actual Victory Banner #5 is currently in a Russian museum. The USSR commissioned the production of several replicas of the flag after World War II for use in the Victory Day parade held in Red Square every May 9th. In 2007, a number of Russian "reformers" began a movement to remove the hammer and sickle from the Victory Banner. Following a massive outcry from Russian war veterans, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law preserving the Soviet-era iconography as a national symbol of the victory over fascism.
I'm not sure when it was that I got the idea to try and have my own replica made, but my first efforts were less than encouraging. A local custom flag maker wanted a couple of hundred dollars to make one 3 foot by 5 foot flag...Plus, the company indicated they wanted almost one hundred dollars more to convert the artwork that I had provided to a certain type of image format. So the initial estimate made the operation appear somewhat cost-prohibitive, to say the least. I checked with a few more American companies and their quotes were slightly better, but not really affordable by my standards. I corresponded a bit with may friend Jake about my idea. Jake and I had collaborated on the design and production of some t-shirts a few years ago and I figured he might be able to tell me whether or not I was getting decent information from the companies I was contacting. One important thing he shared with me was that my artwork was already a vector image and that anyone who tried to get money from me to convert or format the image file was not necessarily on the up-and-up. he also shared a bit of information on the printing process and other important details.
I decided to try one more company who quickly provided an estimate that was a small fraction of what the other companies had quoted. I was terribly surprised and I checked and re-checked figures and procedures with their representative to make sure I was understanding the quote correctly. Not only was the quoted price a fraction of the others I had obtained, but the quote for five flags from this company was still less than the price of one from any of the others I had contacted. Somewhere along the line, I realized that the company I was dealing with was based in Australia, but by that point I had committed to buying the flags and they had thrown in global express shipping in the original quote. I probably would have been scared off had I realized I was dealing with a flag maker from another country, but in retrospect, I must say that the people I dealt with on the project were amazingly prompt and thorough. They even provided me with a color "proof" graphic of the product before I committed to buy anything.
I was thrilled the day the flags arrived in the mail. The image quality on the flags is exceptional and I can't help thinking that this is a very good replica of the banner used in the Victory Day ceremonies.
My replica flags are a close approximation of the original banner. Each flag measures 3 feet by 5 feet and it is composed of 100% woven polyester (1 ply). The design is a single-side print with 98% show-thru of the reverse image on the back. The flags are hemmed with double stitching and they have grommets for hanging.
I plan on selling a few of my extras to finance the cost of the whole project. I figure that if I was interested enough to have these made, there must be at least a few other folks out there like me that would think these are as cool as I do.
Video of the 2005 Victory Day parade. The Banner of Victory appears around 1:41 (-8:06) in the video.
The other day, I checked the main page at CNN.com for a quick news update and I noticed a link to an article entitled, "Nancy Reagan: People need to know about 'Ronnie'" . The article provided a summary of Larry King's recent interview with Nancy over her decision to publish her late husband's diaries. In the interview, she said, "I just thought that there was so much in this diary that people didn't know about Ronnie, and that they really should know about Ronnie." Well, Nancy...For once, I actually agree with you. But I don't think they need to rush out and buy a copy of "The Reagan Diaries." That's just not what I have in mind.
Shortly after "Ronnie" died, I came across an essay called "How Ronald Reagan changed my life." The piece was an obituary of sorts and it was penned by a fellow named Greg Butterfield. During a time in which America's ruling elite and the big media were engrossed in an frenzied rush to beatify the fallen "Gipper", Greg had the guts to paint an honest picture of the man behind the legend. And it wasn't so much of a "warts and all" picture as it was simply all warts. So when I read Nancy's statement about the "Real Ronnie," Greg's essay was the first thing that came to mind. Yes, Nancy, I do agree with you. People should know the "real Ronnie." And with that in mind, here's an excerpt from Greg Butterfield's 2004 essay, "How Ronald Reagan changed my life."
The truth about Reagan and his legacy must be told.
Ronald Reagan was a scab. His political career began when, as a leader of the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood, he ratted on fellow union members and others before the McCarthyite House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Ronald Reagan was a racist. As governor of California in the 1960s and 1970s, he joined the FBI in waging war against the rebelling African American community and those heroic advocates of Black liberation, the Black Panther Party. He was responsible for the deaths of many young Black freedom fighters. Only a worldwide movement saved his personal nemesis, Angela Davis, from unjust imprisonment. In the 1980s, his administration was responsible for CIA-sponsored drug running in Black communities to fund the contra war against Nicaragua.
Ronald Reagan hated the poor. He knew that capitalism creates armies of poor and unemployed workers, and that they constitute the greatest threat to the profit system. Over decades, first as governor of California and then as president for eight years, he missed no opportunity to wage war on the poor—their image in society as well as their material well-being. He was a prime mover in the post-civil-rights-era rollback of public perceptions of the poor as less than human. He was an early champion of the "Cadillac welfare mother" myth, and continued to use it throughout his career. Reagan blazed the trail for none other than Democratic President Bill Clinton, who smashed the federal welfare system in 1996.
Ronald Reagan also hated gays, lesbians, bi and trans people—and he promoted a vicious homophobia to characterize AIDS as a "gay disease" and stigmatize people with AIDS, a disproportionate number of them people of color. Reagan blocked funding for AIDS education, prevention, treatment or care, here and in other countries. The AIDS crisis exploded during the Reagan presidency. He let it. The president now being lauded as a swell fellow, a kind, good-hearted, decent guy you just couldn't help but love, was in fact a callous killer. He is directly responsible for the HIV/AIDS deaths of tens of thousands of people then—and millions around the world since.
Ronald Reagan was a union buster. He broke the PATCO air controllers' strike in 1981. This act, at the beginning of a reactionary period in world history, dealt a body blow to the labor movement from which it is still struggling to recover. Workers in the United States pay the price every single day when they face off with the boss on the job, when they collect their paychecks, when they are told they must pay for their health benefits or lose them.
Ronald Reagan was a warmonger. The idea of people being free of U.S. imperialist domination was anathema to him, especially if they were people of color. His war crimes—from the funding, arming and training of some of the very forces today called "terrorists" to wage war on the pro-socialist revolutionary government of Afghanistan, to the invasion of tiny Grenada—are too many to list. But mention should be made of the death squads his regime promoted in El Salvador, and the reactionary contra army and invasion threats that undermined the Nicaraguan Revolution.
Ronald Reagan was a bitter enemy of all poor and working people. What is it that the media and political establishment are celebrating as Reagan's "legacy"?
It is his role in helping to destroy the Soviet Union, the great achievement of the workers' and peasants' revolution of 1917, and setting back the world movement for socialism. The unrelenting nuclear arms buildup and aggressive threats that were the hallmark of his presidency laid the groundwork for the USSR's demise.
The USSR's existence for over 70 years had the effect of challenging imperialist aggression in many areas of the world. The existence of a major alternative economic and political system helped countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America to achieve a measure of independence from the former colonial powers. In the Western imperialist countries, it helped the labor and civil-rights movements win and hold onto hard-fought gains, because workers knew there was another system that guaranteed jobs, food, housing and health care for all people.
There are many other crimes that bear Reagan's stamp: the continuing rollback of women's right to choose, the war on immigrants, the speech at a Bitburg, Germany, cemetery honoring Nazi SS troops, and so many more.
The history of the last decade-plus is Reagan's real legacy: more war, more occupations, a return to openly colonialist methods and ideology, more racism, more vicious attacks on women and the lesbian/gay/bi/trans communities, fewer rights and falling living standards for workers, more people hungry and homeless with no safety net.
That, friends, is the real "Ronnie." It's probably not what Nancy had in mind, but it is an unflinching and accurate picture of the man and his legacy, nevertheless.
When I first read Greg's article, I sent him a personal note to congratulate him on a job well done. Shortly thereafter, I was pleased to receive a note back from Greg in which he indicated he had received similar kudos from many others. Almost three years later, the piece still rings true. And "Ronnie"—the Great Communicator himself—couldn't have possibly said it better.
