Since its abolishment, the flag has been used by various monarchist movements in Russia seeking for the re-establishment of the Emperor, including during the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, as well as in various protests against the government.

The combination of black, yellow, and white colours was first noted at the beginning of the 18th century under Peter the Great on his ship's standard (this flag indicated the personal presence of the sovereign on a warship): on the yellow cloth was placed a black two-headed eagle with white maps of the four seas in its beaks and claws.

The scope of application of the new flag was limited: it was intended primarily for decorating buildings, streets and squares on solemnities.

White-blue-red tricolours continued to fly on commercial and other civil ships, while embassies and consulates of the Russian Empire had their own flags with a special pattern.

As a result, on 29 April 1896, according to the report of the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, who headed the maritime department, Emperor Nicholas II decided to recognise "in all cases the white-blue-red flag as national".

[10][11] At the end of the 19th century, white-blue-red flags essentially replaced black-yellow-white colours from public life, which began to be perceived as purely "Romanov".

In 1929, the head of the Russian Imperial House, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, established the Order of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in exile, which is worn with a black, yellow and white ribbon.

The requirement to establish the official status of this flag (in one form or another) also appears in the program documents of a number of public associations.

[26] Currently, the black-yellow-white flag is used by Russian nationalist, monarchist, Cossack and patriotic organisations, as well as football fans.