"This is our answer to same sex marriages, this mockery of the very concept of family. We must prevent gay fever in our country and support traditional values," Andrei Lisovenko, deputy head of the United Russia branch in Moscow, said.
In what appears to be a direct response to last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage and the ensuing global display of gay pride flags, Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russian Party has revealed its own "straight flag."
"This is our answer to same sex marriages, this mockery of the very concept of family. We must prevent gay fever in our country and support traditional values," Andrei Lisovenko, deputy head of the United Russia branch in Moscow, told the Izvestia newspaper, The Independent reported.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges in June to effectively render same-sex marriage bans illegal in all 50 states.
While homosexuality is not illegal in Russia, the government is not exactly known for its friendly stance towards gays, either. Putin introduced a law in 2013 that bans "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations," which went on to pass 436-0, according to The Guardian.
Three variants of the Russian straight flag exist, depicting a husband, wife and three children holding hands against a solid background of white, blue or red, which are the colors of the Russian national flag, RT reported.
"We are speaking of the traditional family. We mean the average standard Russian family that is ours: mother, father and three children," Lisovenko said.
It was unveiled at a United Russia Party rally in Moscow's Sokolniki park on the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, an annual celebration held across the country on July 8.
Alongside the flag's release, officials launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #realfamily.
