The first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, refused to use the new state flag during the first inauguration due to the fact that the tricolor was not officially approved at that time.
This reason for refusal RIA News called the former Minister of Foreign Economic Relations of the RSFSR Viktor Yaroshenko.
The inauguration took place on July 10, 1991, after Yeltsin won the first presidential elections in the RSFSR on June 12 with 58 percent of the vote.
According to Yaroshenko, at that time there was one flag of the RSFSR – red with a blue stripe along the shaft, a sickle, a hammer and a star. Nevertheless, the organizers of the swearing-in ceremony actively discussed the possibility of hoisting the tricolor.
Then it was already clear that the republic would switch to a new symbol, the commission for the development of symbols had already approved it. In the end, Yeltsin had the final say, but after much hesitation, he suggested “not to interfere with the old and the new.” It was assumed that the transition to a new symbol would take place after the approval of the parliament, but against the backdrop of the events of August 1991, the new authorities of the country decided to speed up the process and approved the corresponding resolution.