Symbol of eternity

A review of the flag of the Votes.

This is the flag of the Votes, an almost extinct people living in Ingermanland or Ingria, an area in the St Petersburg region of Russia. The Votes and the Izhorians, another almost extinct ethnic group, were the original inhabitants of Ingria. When Sweden conquered Ingria during its “great power” period, the area was settled by Finns. Even later, the Russians became the dominant nationality in the region. Today, only 64 (sic) Votes are left, most of whom can't even speak the Votic language, which is related to Estonian and Finnish. Around the year 2000, a linguist named Ferenc Valoczy designed a typical Nordic flag for the Votes, showing a green cross on a blue field. It quickly went viral, at least on websites devoted to things Votic. However, the Votes themselves never accepted it and commissioned a new flag from the poet Aleksandr Gurinov. The design shown here is Gurinov's. The white field stands for Vatland or the Land of the Votes. The blue fields symbolize the Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipus, between which Vatland is situated. The red cross is the most interesting part. It seems to be an ancient pagan symbol and is described this way by the Votic newspaper Maya Vyachi: “Symbol of the memory of the ancestors, heroism in defense of their land, symbol of eternity, reminding us that the ties between the generations should never be broken, symbol of the unity of things material and spiritual.” Amen to that!