Orange and Black

I did a little looking on the internet and was finally able to find out the story behind the orange and black ribbons worn (and strapped to backpacks, car antennas, and everything else in sight) on Victory Day in Russia.

Apparently, orange and black were the colors of the medal of St. George, given out in tsarist times for acts of military heroism. The colors were revived after the Second World War as part of the general revival of nationalism the war brought in its wake. After the war ended, orange and black ribbons were given out not only to all military personnel but to all person working in defense plants or otherwise engaged in the war effort (I imagine this must have been most of the adult population of the Soviet Union at the time).