Last modified: 2024-06-15 by 
zachary harden
Keywords: belarus | commonwealth of independent states | belorussia | byelorussia |
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image by Zoltan Horvath, 18 April 2024
Official Name: Republic of Belarus
(Respublika Byelarus')
Previous Name: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet
Socialist Republic
Capital: Minsk
Location: Eastern Europe
Government Type: Republic
Flag adopted: 7
June 1995
ISO Code: BY
See also:
Other Sites:
Editorial Remark: It must be noted that all the opinions are the authors opinions and not of FOTW. Our site is non-political and concentrates only on vexillological issues.
Flag of Belarus is red over green (1:2) with white stripe
along the mast (1/9 length). On the white stripe is a red
ornament (the same as on the flag of Soviet era, but in inverse
colors). Proportions of the flag are 1:2.
Petr Exner, 30 June 1995
From <www.by.undp.org>:
"Based on the decision of the May referendum (1995), the
President of Belarus issued decrees .....On Approval of
Regulations for National Flag of the Republic of Belarus. The
National Emblem and National Flag are symbols of national
sovereignty..... The National Flag of the Republic of Belarus is
a rectangular color cloth consisting of two longitudinal stripes:
red upper stripe and green lower stripe that are two-thirds and
one-third of the flag width respectively. Close to the flagstaff
there is a vertically placed red-on-white Belarusian decorative
pattern which occupies one-ninth of the flag's length and the
ratio of width to length is 1:2. The flag is fixed on the
flagstaff painted golden with ochre. It is precisely these
symbols that have been met with approval of 75.1% of people voted
at a national referendum. Red color in a flag is from ancient
days. That was the color of victorious standards of the
Belarusian regiments that had gained victory over crusaders at
Grunewald, that was the color of flags of the Red Army divisions
and Belarusian guerrilla detachments that liberated the country
from fascist invaders and their henchmen. Green is the color of
hope, spring and revival, the color of forests and fields.
Belarusian decorative pattern is a symbol of ancient culture of
folk, its spiritual richness , the unity of folk singers and
makers with people. The present National Emblem of the Republic
of Belarus symbolizes historical adherence of the Belarusian
people to constructive labor, their faith into triumph of justice
and attainment of worthy place in the world community."
This is possibly a more reliable (or at least official
Belarusian government) source, the Belarusian Mission to the UN
Development Program. There is also an image of the flag in
the site. I may be stating the obvious here, but using
USSR-period sources for the current Belarusian flag is apparently
a bad idea. A private site in Belarus <chronicle.home.by>
citing Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, says the current BY flag
is "almost identical to the Soviet era flag" i.e. not
the same.
Joe McMillan, 15 Febuary 2001
Belarus flag colour shades from Album 2000 [pay00] are:
Pantone --- CMYK
R 1795c --- 0-90-100-0
G 370c --- 60-0-100-25
Santiago Dotor, 26 Febuary 2001
The flag of Belarus was changed upon the publication of an amendment to the
state flag standard "STB 911-2008 - National Flag of the Republic of Belarus.
Technical specifications." The modification, along with the rest of the
standard, can be seen at
http://www.tnpa.by/ViewFileText.php?UrlRid=52178&UrlOnd=%D1%D2%C1%20911-2008
(Russian) and was published on February 20th, 2012. The only change was that the
red ornament pattern was made 1/9th of the width of the flag instead of 1/12th
(so it covers the entire white section of the flag now). No other changes were
made to the flag.
Zachary Harden,
10 April 2012
The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags
and Anthems Manual London 2012) provides recommendations for national flag
designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for
their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm
version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the
official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC
believed the flag to be.
For Belarus: PMS 1795 red, 3405 green. The vertical
version is simply the flag turned through 90 degrees clockwise.
Ian
Sumner, 10 October 2012
Recommended pantone colors of the National Flag:
Red: Pantone 1795 C
Green: Pantone 355 C
White: Process White (Source)
Zachary Harden, 11 September 2019
More discussion about the details of the colour and design can be found on the page about the 1995 version of the flag. - editor
image by Zach Harden, 31 January 2004
The finial that tops the Belarus flag.
Zach Harden, 31 January 2004
It says at http://president.gov.by/en/press10664.html:
"During ceremonies and other solemn events, the National Flag of the Republic
of Belarus is used with a diamond-shaped top edge containing a five-point star.
The star is analogous to the one depicted on the national Emblem of the Republic
of Belarus. The top edges are made of yellow metal."
Zach Harden, 17
March 2011