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Tuesday, June 26

The Banner of Victory

by Mike on Tue 26 Jun 2007 11:57 PM EDT

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.