What is the significance of a Ukrainian flag with a tryzub/trident?
March 13, 2022 6:23 PM Subscribe
Apparently the Ukrainian tryzub/trident was included in a UK list of symbols associated with white supremacy, due to its appropriation by a far-right nationalist party. Others angrily dismissed this interpretation. What would be the meaning of a Ukrainian flag with this emblem on it to the average Ukrainian/member of the Ukrainian diaspora?
A family member recently purchased Ukrainian flags as a show of support for the people of Ukraine. (My family has Ukrainian heritage, but no active connection to the country itself.) However, these flags are not the standard flags. They have the tryzub/trident emblem on them, in addition to the blue and yellow stripes. Apparently there is some connection of this emblem to far-right nationalist groups, but I am also seeing people denying this.
My question is: what connotation does this flag have for the average Ukrainian/member of the Ukrainian diaspora? It was purchased in a shop in an area with a high volume of Ukrainian immigrants. It was a different price than the normal flag, which to me suggests some subtle difference in meaning, some reason they would be worth paying more for. I would like to be sure my family members understand what they are communicating by displaying this flag.
A family member recently purchased Ukrainian flags as a show of support for the people of Ukraine. (My family has Ukrainian heritage, but no active connection to the country itself.) However, these flags are not the standard flags. They have the tryzub/trident emblem on them, in addition to the blue and yellow stripes. Apparently there is some connection of this emblem to far-right nationalist groups, but I am also seeing people denying this.
My question is: what connotation does this flag have for the average Ukrainian/member of the Ukrainian diaspora? It was purchased in a shop in an area with a high volume of Ukrainian immigrants. It was a different price than the normal flag, which to me suggests some subtle difference in meaning, some reason they would be worth paying more for. I would like to be sure my family members understand what they are communicating by displaying this flag.
Ugh. I for one hate just relinquishing an otherwise snazzy, powerful, beautiful symbol or word just because some jerks start liking it. If there's any way this can be publicized as a heartfelt symbol anew, I'd love that.
posted by amtho at 8:23 PM on March 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by amtho at 8:23 PM on March 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
AFAIK the tryzub is just a national symbol of Ukraine that was associated with some unsavory party politics, just like every politician waves the flag. It's not the wolfsangel or the sonnenrad (which, yeah, actual Nazi shit).
posted by kingdead at 9:37 PM on March 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by kingdead at 9:37 PM on March 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
As @larthegreat says, the trident (tryzub) is the Coat of Arms of Ukraine. It was first adopted by a newly independent Ukraine in 1917, though the symbol reaches back almost a thousand years earlier to St. Volodymyr/Vladimir the Great. Since the 1990s it's been an official government symbol, it's on Ukrainian passports, etc.
Ukrainians or diasporic Ukrainians will display it as symbol of patriotism, just like they would a regular Ukrainian flag, and it wouldn't have any other connotation. For example, driving through Toronto I'll see cars that have stickers other heraldic symobls – the Polish eagle, the Russian double-headed eagle, or the Scottish Lion Rampant, or the checkerboard pattern of the Croatian coat of arms. Just shout-outs to their cultural heritage or patriotic pride.
posted by Kabanos at 5:25 PM on March 23, 2022
Ukrainians or diasporic Ukrainians will display it as symbol of patriotism, just like they would a regular Ukrainian flag, and it wouldn't have any other connotation. For example, driving through Toronto I'll see cars that have stickers other heraldic symobls – the Polish eagle, the Russian double-headed eagle, or the Scottish Lion Rampant, or the checkerboard pattern of the Croatian coat of arms. Just shout-outs to their cultural heritage or patriotic pride.
posted by Kabanos at 5:25 PM on March 23, 2022
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I don't think most people will know the distinction and I'd be heartened to see it or the regular flag flying on my neighborhood.
(The trident is super old... So having it flagged as a symbol of some sort of group is unsurprising? But also it's been the coat of arms of Ukrainians for centuries)
For what it's worth, I have a trident bumper sticker on my car and it's been there since the orange revolution, the only comments I get are from other ukrainians, usually asking where to get one.
posted by larthegreat at 7:06 PM on March 13, 2022 [8 favorites]