Russia’s ruling party copies French flag in celebration of family values

Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, has revealed its logo for the celebration of the Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness, a Russian holiday celebrated on July 8. But social network users have noticed the flag bears a strange likeness to the logo used by La Manif Pour Tous, a French activist movement opposing same-sex marriage.

The Russian version of the flag depicts the white silhouettes of a woman, a man, and three children holding hands. The hashtag “#realfamily” is written across the bottom.

Alexei Lisovenko, deputy chief of Moscow’s United Russia office, has stated that his party borrowed the flag with permission from the French movement. At the same time, United Russia decided to add a third child to the picture because large families are in line with “Russian tradition,” according to Lisovenko.

He also told news agency RIA Novosti that the flag “is our answer to same-sex marriage. We must prevent the gay fever from spreading in our country and we have to support traditional values.” Lisovenko maintained that the French activists supported the idea of celebrating “traditional values” in Russia.

The flag will be used as the logo for a festival called “Real family” in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park, organized by United Russia for the evening of July 8.