Flag of Paraguay de Asunción), each side of this tricolour flag contains a horizontal tricolor of red, white and blue with the National Emblem centered on the white band. The emblem on the obverse side is the national coat of arms of Paraguay: a yellow five-pointed star surrounded by a green wreath of palm and olive leaves tied with ribbons of the colour of the stripes, and capped by the words ("Republic of Paraguay" in Spanish), all within two concentric circles). The colours of the flag are believed to be inspired from the flag of France to show independence and liberty, and the
Flag of the Netherlands flag in turn is believed to have influenced many flags of other Slavic countries, resulting in many red-white-blue styled tribands in other parts of Europe. Peter the Great of Russia was building a new Russian Navy mostly on Dutch standards; therefore the Russian merchant flag at sea would be the inverted colours of the Dutch flag. Flag of the Netherlands The flag of the Netherlands () is a horizontal tricolor of red, white, and blue. The tricolor flag is almost identical to that of Luxembourg, except that it is shorter and its red and blue stripes are a darker shade.