In 1697, Tsar Peter I visited the Netherlands to learn about the most advanced techniques in shipbuilding. He was impressed by the simple design of Dutch flag and modeled Russian flag after the Dutch flag by having the stripes arranged white-blue-red. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 (October revolution), the Communists adopted a Red Flag that contained a gold hammer, sickle, and gold-bordered red star in the upper hoist corner as the official flag of the newly created USSR (Soviet Union). As the Communist regime started falling apart, the original white-blue-red Russian national flag was restored on August 21, 1991. Soon, non-Russian territories of the Soviet Union became independent as the Soviet Union collapsed. The rest of the country, now called Russian Federation, continued using the white-blue-red Russian national flag