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In stark contrast to the rainbow flag used to represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender pride and rights movements, the United Russia straight flag bears only two colors, but is available in a number of different schemes .
The party said the flag's release was timed to coincide with the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, an annual Russian celebration that was marked in the country Wednesday.
Andrei Lisovenko, deputy head of the United Russia branch in Moscow, said the flag was inspired by the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 decision to strike down the country's remaining bans on same-sex marriage.
"This is our response to same-sex marriage, to this mockery of the concept of the family. We have to warn against gay fever at home and support traditional values in our country," Lisovenko told newspaper Izvestia.
Satirical Twitter account RIP Novosti pointed out the flag bears a striking similarity to a banner for La Manif Pour Tous, a French group opposing same-sex marriage. The Russian version has one more child and different text than the French flag, but the silhouettes appear identical.
Московские единороссы представили флаг гетеросексуалов. Но поскольку они единороссы, то они его по привычке украли pic.twitter.com/5SjvraHYW0
— RIP Новости (@riarip) July 8, 2015
"Moscow's United Russia presented a heterosexual flag. But since they are members of United Russia, they stole it out of habit," RIP Novosti joked in a tweet.