With the exception of the Ukrainian and Russian flags, flown by each side in Ukraine’s conflict, newcomers to eastern Ukraine have to learn the meaning of a whole range of unfamiliar banners and symbols. Some, like the Ukrainian and Russian ones, are old pre-Soviet flags revived, some are new ones incorporating elements from older flags, and many are old Soviet ones catering to those on the barricades who are nostalgic for the country of their youth.

The black and orange flag of St George is one of the most important symbols of the anti-Kiev rebels. However, even more important than the flag itself, are the ribbons which people tie to their jackets. Over the last decade these ribbons have grown in Russia and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union as a commemorative symbol. The black and orange stripes were established as the colours of the Russian imperial Order of St George in 1769, and survived until the revolution of 1917. During the second world war, when Stalin sought to infuse Russians with patriotism, the ribbon was revived to accompany a Soviet order which survives in a new form today. Here in Ukraine however they have now become a symbol of loyalty to Russia.

As the ribbon’s stripes closely resemble those of the Colorado beetle, pro-Russians are being derided by pro-Ukrainians as “Colorados”, who need to be eliminated, just like the notorious potato pest beetles.

All buildings seized by the rebels now fly the Donetsk flag, though sometimes below that of the Russian flag. There are two versions. One is a plain tricolour and the other features a double-headed eagle crest. While the flag was adopted with the declaration of the republic last month, it is not new. In 1918 it was that of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic which lasted less than six weeks and was also a rebellion against Ukraine.

Very common at rallies in eastern Ukraine now and on barricades are old Soviet flags, particularly that of Soviet Ukraine, which was a variation of the flag of the Soviet Union but featured a blue stripe. The flags of Soviet Russia, and Belarus in particular, are also a common sight and fuse the idea of a common Soviet past and united, Slavic future.

Rarer are Tsarist-era Russian imperial flags. The basic one is a simple black, yellow and white tricolour and others are variations on this, including the imperial double headed eagle crest. As Vladmir Putin has revived the name New Russia, which covers the old imperial possessions in Ukraine's east and its Black Sea coast, whoever flies these flags leaves no uncertainty about their wish that these regions should become part of an empire reborn.

On the Ukrainian side there has not been a re-appearance of old or new flags in the east. However, many easterners have been convinced by the Russian media that they are under massive attack from a fringe Ukrainian nationalist group called the Right Sector. The flag they have been using, and which was much in evidence in Kiev during last winter’s revolution, is a black and red one. It was the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the second world war. At times this group collaborated with the Nazis and later it fought against the reimposition of Soviet rule.

According to Andreas Umland, an academic in Kiev, many Ukrainians regard the red and black flag as one representing freedom. They do not know that originally the red and black stood for blood and soil with all the sinister historical connotations that come with that fact. Indeed, the same could be said for many of the new-old banners under which Ukrainians are now marching to war.