imported>Misha Vargas: /* History */ Removed sortability from unsuitable column

2025-10-29T08:15:43Z

History: Removed sortability from unsuitable column

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{{More citations needed|date=July 2024}}
[[File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|thumb|The [[flag of the Soviet Union]] served as a starting point for each Soviet Republic's own flag.]]

The '''flags of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Socialist Republic]]s''' were all [[defacement (flag)|defaced]] versions of the [[flag of the Soviet Union]], which featured a golden [[hammer and sickle]] and a gold-bordered [[red star]] (the only exception being the Georgian SSR, which used a red hammer and sickle and a fully red star) on a red field.

== History ==
When [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussia]] and [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]] became the founding members of the [[United Nations]] in 1945, all of their flags were red with only small markings in upper left corners and needed distinct flags for each other.

In February 1947, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a resolution calling for the Soviet republics to adopt new flags, which each of its republics were recommended to develop and adopt new national flags. So they expressed the idea of a union state, asked to use the symbols of the State flag of the Soviet Union, such as the gold [[hammer and sickle]] and the [[red star]], as well as maintain the predominance of red color on the flag of the Union republics. National, historical and cultural features of each republic was instructed to express the other colors and the order of their location, as well as the location based on the national emblem or coat of arms. After competitions for the best projects from 1949 to 1954 the new flags of the 16 republics were developed and adopted. The authorities in Ukraine and Byelorussia were the first to adopt the flags on 5 July 1950, and 25 December 1951, respectively. All others followed suit between 1952 and 1953 with the last republic, the Russian SFSR, adopted the flag on 9 January 1954.<ref>[http://www.vexillographia.ru/russia/index.htm Государственные флаги РСФСР]</ref> With the exception of Russia, all republics adopted at least one horizontal stripe in a non-red color, whereas the RSFSR chose a simple light-blue vertical stripe instead.<ref name="Smith 1975 Flags">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Whitney |title=Flags through the Ages and across the world |publisher=McGraw Hill |year=1975 |isbn=0070590931 |pages=178}}</ref>

Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] on 26 December 1991, only [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]] (without hammer and sickle), [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Ukraine]] (with the blue and yellow flag already ''de facto'' restored as co-flag) retained their Soviet republic flags as independent states until the new official flags were adopted in 1992. Since 1995 (current version adopted in 2012) [[Belarus]] retains its old [[Flag of the Byelorussian SSR|Soviet-era flag]] with only minor changes.

Their final versions prior to re-adoption of the non-Soviet national flags were as follows:
{| class="wikitable sortable noresize"
|-
! colspan=2|Flag !! Date adopted !! class="unsortable" | Description !! Present-day flag
|-
| align=center|'''[[Flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]]''' || {{center|[[File:Flag of Russian SFSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|7 January 1954}} || A red rectangular sheet with a light-blue stripe at the pole extending all the width which constitutes one eighth length of the flag. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Russia.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Russia]]}}
|-
| align=center|'''[[Flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]]''' || {{center|[[File:Flag of Ukrainian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|5 July 1950}} || A horizontal bicolor of red over azure (light blue) with the golden hammer and sickle and gold-bordered star on top of the canton. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Ukraine.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Ukraine]]}}
|-
|{{center|'''[[Flag of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussian SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Byelorussian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|25 December 1951}} || A horizontal bicolor of red over green in a 2:1 ratio and the golden hammer and sickle with the bordered star on the canton, with a white ornamental pattern on a red vertical stripe at the hoist. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Belarus.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Belarus]]}}
|-
|{{center|'''[[Flag of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]]'''}}|| {{center|[[File:Flag of the Uzbek SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|25 August 1952}} || A triband flag with the colors (from top to bottom) red, blue, and red, with the blue band fimbriated in white, with a golden hammer and sickle in the upper canton. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Uzbekistan.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Uzbekistan]]}}
|-
|align=center|'''[[Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]]''' || {{center|[[File:Flag of Kazakh SSR.svg|200px]]}} || {{dts|24 January 1953}} || A red flag with blue stripe and a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg|100px]] [[Flag of Kazakhstan]]}}
|-
|align=center|'''[[Flag of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian SSR]]'''|| {{center|[[File:Flag of Georgian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|11 April 1951}} || A plain red flag with the red hammer and sickle with a red star in a blue sun in canton, blue bar in upper part of flag. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Georgia (country).svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Georgia (country)|Flag of Georgia]]}}
|-
|{{center|'''[[Flag of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijani SSR]]'''}}|| {{center|[[File:Flag of Azerbaijan SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|7 October 1952}} || A plain red flag with a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton and a horizontal blue band on the bottom fourth. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Azerbaijan]]}}
|-
|{{center|'''[[Flag of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuanian SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Lithuanian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|15 July 1953}} || A red flag with the golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton with the white thin stripe and green thick band on the bottom. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Lithuania.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Lithuania]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Moldavian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|31 January 1952}} || A plain red flag with the green horizontal stripe and the golden hammer and sickle with a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Moldova.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Moldova]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvian SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Latvian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|17 January 1953}} || A plain red flag with a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton with the blue and white rippling water at the bottom. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Latvia.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Latvia]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kirghiz SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Kyrgyz SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|22 December 1952}} || A red field with a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton with two navy blue bars and a white stripe in the middle of the flag. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Kyrgyzstan]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Tajik SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|20 March 1953}} || A red field with white and green stripes in the middle of the flag (pan-Iranian colors), with a golden hammer and sickle in the upper canton. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Tajikistan.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Tajikistan]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenian SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Armenian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|17 December 1952}} || A plain red flag with the blue horizontal stripe and the golden hammer and sickle with a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Armenia.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Armenia]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmen SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (1973–1991).svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|23 September 1974}} || A plain red flag with a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton with two blue bars in the middle of the flag. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Turkmenistan.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Turkmenistan]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] '''of the''' [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonian SSR]]'''}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of Estonian SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} || {{dts|6 February 1953}} || A red flag with the golden hammer and sickle and outlined star above a band of blue water waves near the bottom. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Estonia.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of Estonia]]}}
|-
| {{center|'''[[Flag of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]]''' of the '''[[Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelo-Finnish SSR]]''' {{NoteTag|The [[Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelo-Finnish SSR]] was a short-lived Union Republic formed in 1940 from the [[Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelian ASSR]] with territory ceded from [[Finland]] in the [[Winter War]]. In 1956, it was demoted back to an ASSR within the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|RSFSR]].}}}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.svg|200px|border]]}} ||{{dts|3 March 1953}} || A plain red flag with the golden hammer and sickle with a red star with the blue and green stripes on the bottom. || {{center|[[File:Flag of Karelia.svg|100px|border]] [[Flag of the Republic of Karelia|Flag of Karelia]] (federal state of Russia)}}
|}

==Flags of other republics==
Other [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Union Republics]] and [[autonomous republics of the Soviet Union|autonomous republics]] existed within the Soviet Union, mostly using flags on a similar pattern, or the flag of their "parent" Union Republic, further defaced. Today, the only former Soviet Union territories that use modified versions of their original Soviet flag are the republic of [[Transnistria]] (a [[list of states with limited recognition|state of limited recognition]], formerly part of the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]]) and [[Flag of Belarus|Belarus]] (since 1995).

The official flags of the ASSRs were seldom used, and were generally the flag of the republic to which the ASSR belonged, defaced with the ASSR name in its own language(s) and the official language of the SSR; flags matching this pattern are not displayed in the gallery below:

<gallery>
File:Flag of Abkhazian SSR.svg | [[Flag of the Abkhazian Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] of the [[Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia|SSR of Abkhazia]] {{nowrap|(1921–1931)}}{{NoteTag|Despite its name, the [[Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia|SSR of Abkhazia]] was never a [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Union Republic of the Soviet Union]] but had a special status as a ''contractual republic'' of the [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian SSR]], more similar to the administrative republics of the Soviet Union; see [[Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia#Status|Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia: Status]].}}
File:Flag of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic.svg | Flag of the [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic|Bukharan PSR]] {{nowrap|(1920–1924)}}{{NoteTag|The [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic]] was a short-lived [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] state that governed the former [[Emirate of Bukhara]] during the years immediately following the [[October Revolution|Russian Revolution]]. In 1924, its name was changed to the Bukharan SSR. After the [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union#National delimitation in Central Asia|redrawing of borders by nationality]] in [[Soviet Central Asia]], its territory was assigned mostly to the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]] and some to the [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmen SSR]].}}
File:Flag of Khiva 1920-1923.svg | Flag of the [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic|Khorezm PSR]] {{nowrap|(1920–1924)}}{{NoteTag|The [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic]] was created as the successor to the [[Khanate of Khiva]] in 1920, when the khan abdicated in response to popular pressure. In 1923, it was transformed into the Khorezm SSR. A year later, it was divided between the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek]] and [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmen]] SSRs and the [[Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast|Karakalpak AO]] during the [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union#National delimitation in Central Asia|national delimitation]] in [[Soviet Central Asia]].}}
File:Flag of Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1925-1932).svg | [[Flag of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Flag]] of the [[Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian ASSR]] {{nowrap|(1924–1940)}}{{NoteTag|The [[Moldavian Autonomous Oblast|Moldavian AO]], within the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], was upgraded to become the [[Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian ASSR]], encompassing modern [[Transnistria]] (generally recognised as being within [[Moldova]]) and a number of territories that are now part of [[Ukraine]], with the intention of winning over [[Bessarabia]]ns and the first step towards a revolution in [[Greater Romania|Romania]]. In 1940, as a result of the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], Bessarabia and Northern [[Bukovina]] were ceded to and [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|occupied]] by the Soviet Union during [[World War II]]; the ASSR and the newly-won territories were upgraded to a Union Republic as the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]].}}
File:Flag of the Tajik ASSR (1929.02-1929.04).svg | Flag of the [[Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik ASSR]] {{nowrap|(1924–1929)}}{{NoteTag|The [[Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik ASSR]] was an autonomous republic within the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]], created in 1924 during the [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union#National delimitation in Central Asia|redrawing of borders by nationality]] in [[Soviet Central Asia]]. Five years later it was promoted to a full Union Republic as the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik SSR]].}}
File:Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR (variant).svg | [[Flag of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic|Flag]] of the [[Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic|Transcaucasian SFSR]] {{nowrap|(1922–1936)}}{{NoteTag|In 1922, the [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenian]], [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan]] and [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian]] SSRs were merged to form the [[Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic|Transcaucasian SFSR]]. In 1936, they were repartitioned back into the original three Union Republics.}}
File:Flag of Transnistria (state).svg|Flag of the [[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Pridnestrovian PMSSR]]/'''[[Transnistria]]''' {{nowrap|(1990–1991/present)}}{{NoteTag|'''Current flag.''' The flag of [[Transnistria]], a [[list of states with limited recognition|state of limited recognition]], is near-identical to the flag of the former Moldavian SSR. When Moldova became independent, some places in Transnistria refused to fly the new [[Flag of Moldova|Moldovan flag]] and continued to fly the flags of the Soviet Union and of the Moldavian SSR. The SSR flag was officially reintroduced as the flag of Transnistria in 2000. Despite the flag and coat of arms, Transnistria is not a [[communist state]].}}
File:Turkestan Autonomous SSR Flag.svg|Flag of the [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkestan ASSR]] {{nowrap|(1918–1924)}}{{NoteTag|The [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkestan ASSR]] (initially, the Turkestan Soviet Republic) was an autonomous republic of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|RSFSR]] located in [[Soviet Central Asia]]. Upon dissolution, the Turkestan ASSR was split into the [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmen SSR]], the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek SSR]], the [[Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik ASSR]], the [[Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast|Kara-Kirghiz AO]] and the [[Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast|Karakalpak AO]]{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}.}}
</gallery>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
USSRRepublicsPoster1954.jpg|1954 poster featuring flags of the 16 republics at the time.
RIAN archive 140800 Signing of Protocol on Establishing Commonwealth of Independent States.jpg|Remaining uses of Soviet republic flags visible during the signing of the [[Alma-Ata Protocol]].
</gallery>

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/su_tab.html FotW chart of all the flags of the SSRs through history]

{{Soviet Union topics}}
{{USSR flags}}
{{Lists of flags}}

[[Category:Lists and galleries of flags|Soviet Republics]]
[[Category:Flags of the Soviet Union| ]]
[[Category:Soviet Union-related lists|Flags]]

Flags of the Soviet Republics - Revision history

imported>Misha Vargas: /* History */ Removed sortability from unsuitable column