List of flags of the Soviet Union

This is list of flags related to the Soviet Union, as in use from 1917 to 1991.

Date	Use	Description
1922–1923	State flag of the Soviet Union	A red field with the state emblem of the Soviet Union in the center, fimbriated in white.
1923–1924		A red field with a gold hammer, sickle and star within a golden fimbriated canton.
1924–1936		A red field with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton, as approved in 1924.
1936–1955		A red field with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton, as approved in the 1936 Constitution.
1955–1991		A red field with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton, as approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1955.
1980–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1980. Rarely utilized in practice.

Date	Use	Description
1945	The Victory Banner	A red field with a grey hammer, sickle and star, with an inscription reading "150th Rifle Order of Kutuzov 2nd class Idritsa Division 79th Rifle Corps 3rd Shock Army 1st Belarusian Front". Flown over the Reichstag on May 1st 1945.
1964–1991	Flag of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces	A red field with the state emblem of the Soviet Union in the center, fimbriated in white. The position was usually held by the general secretary and, after 1990, the President.
1964–1991	Flag of the Minister of Defence.	A white field with two light blue stripes, one off center, the other on the lower edge, with the state emblem of the Soviet Union in the center, fimbriated in white.

Date	Use	Description
1935–1991	Naval ensign of the Soviet Navy	A white field with a blue horizontal stripe on the lower edge, consisting of a red star near the hoist, and a red hammer and sickle near the fly. Approved in 1935, modified in 1950.
1932–1991	Naval jack of the Soviet Navy	A red field with a white hammer and sickle within a white fimbriated red star. Approved in 1932, confirmed in 1935, modified in 1964
1935–1991	Naval ensign of the Soviet Border Troops	A green field with the Soviet naval ensign in the canton. Approved in 1935, confirmed in 1964.

Date	Use	Description
1917–1918	State flag of the Russian SFSR	A red field. Used during the initial revolutionary era.
1918		A red field with the pre-reform Russian full name of the republic in white.
1918–1925/1937		A red field with a traditionally-stylized abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated canton. Approved in 1918 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, replaced in the Russian Constitution of 1925 [ru], though still remained in use until 1937.
1925–1937		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, as approved per the Russian Constitution of 1925.
1937–1954		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, approved per the Russian Constitution of 1937.
1954–1991		A red field with a light blue stripe along the hoist, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Soviet in 1954.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a light blue stripe along the hoist, as approved by the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Soviet in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1991	State flag of the Russian SFSR	A tricolour of white, blue, and red. Approved by the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Soviet on August 22nd 1991, and adopted on November 1st 1991. Use continued upon independence until standardization in 1993.

Date	Use	Description
1917-1918	Flag of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets	A red field with the traditional Ukrainian flag in the canton.
1918	Flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic	A red field.
1919–1929	State flag of the Ukrainian SSR	A red field with a Russian abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated canton. Approved in 1919.
1929-1937		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, as approved in the Ukrainian Constitution of 1929.
1937-1949		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer and sickle above it, as approved per the Ukrainian Constitution of 1937.
1949-1991		A red field with a light blue horizontal stripe on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet in 1949. Continued use as a co-national flag post-independence until 1992.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a light blue horizontal stripe on the lower edge, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1991	Co-national state flag of the Ukrainian SSR	A bicolour of blue and gold. Adopted through the declaration of independence on August 24th 1991. Use continued upon independence.

List of flags of the Soviet Union

National

Military

Navy

Air Force

Republics

Russian SFSR

Governmental

Ukrainian SSR

Belarusian SSR

Uzbek SSR

Kazakh SSR

Georgian SSR

Azerbaijani SSR

Lithuanian SSR

Moldovan SSR

Latvian SSR

Kyrgyz SSR

Tajik SSR

Armenian SSR

Turkmen SSR

Estonian SSR

Former republics

Karelo-Finnish SSR

Transcaucasian SFSR

Proposed

Russian SFSR

Other

Unofficial

Alleged

See also

References

External links

Related Articles

Date	Use	Description
1919	Flag of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated canton.
1919–1920	Flag of the Litbel SSR	A red field.
1919–1927	State flag of the Belarusian SSR	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated canton. Approved in 1919.
1927–1937		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, as approved in the Belarusian Constitution of 1927.
1937–1951		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer, sickle and star above it, as approved in the Belarusian Constitution of 1937.
1951–1991		A red field with a white ornamental patterned stripe along the hoist and a green stripe on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Belarusian Supreme Soviet in 1951.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a white ornamental patterned stripe along the hoist and a green stripe on the lower edge, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1991	State flag of the Belarusian SSR	A tricolour of white, red, and white. Adopted on August 25th 1991. Use continued upon independence until 1995.

Date	Use	Description
1925–1927	State flag of the Uzbek SSR	A red field with abbreviations of the republic in gold, Uzbek above and Russian below, as approved by the Uzbek Central Executive Committee in 1925.
1927–1929		A red field with abbreviations of the republic in gold, Uzbek above, Russian middle, and Tajik below, as approved by the Uzbek Central Executive Committee in 1927.
1929–1931		The 1927 flag, but with the Arabic scripts replaced with Latin, as approved by the Uzbek Central Executive Committee in 1929.
1931–1934		The 1929 flag, but with the Tajik abbreviation removed, as adopted in the Uzbek Constitution of 1931.
1934–1935		The 1931 flag, but with the Uzbek abbreviation modified, as approved in 1934.
1935–1937		The 1934 flag, but with the Uzbek abbreviation modified, as approved in 1934.
1937–1938		The 1935 flag, but with the Uzbek abbreviation changed to a fuller inscription, as adopted in the Uzbek Constitution of 1937.
1938–1941		The 1937 flag, but with the Uzbek inscription modified, as approved in 1938.
1941–1952		The 1938 flag, but with the Uzbek Latin inscription replaced with Cyrillic and the Russian inscription changed to a fuller inscription, as approved by the Presidium of the Uzbek Supreme Soviet in 1941.
1952-1991		A red field with a light blue stripe in the middle, bordered in white, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Uzbek Supreme Soviet in 1952.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a light blue stripe in the middle, bordered in white, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1991	State flag of the Uzbek SSR	A tricolour of blue, white, and green, split between red stripes, with twelve white stars and a white crescent in the canton. Adopted on November 18th 1991. Use continued upon independence.

Date	Use	Description
1937–1940	State flag of the Kazakh SSR	A red field with inscriptions of the republic in gold on the canton, Kazakh above and Russian below, with a hammer and sickle above it, as approved in the Kazakh Constitution of 1937.
1940–1953		A red field with a hammer and sickle near the hoist, and inscriptions of the republic in gold along the fly, Kazakh above and Russian below, as approved by the Kazakh Supreme Soviet in 1940.
1953–1991		A red field with a light blue horizontal stripe near the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Kazakh Supreme Soviet in 1953. Use continued after independence until 1992.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a light blue horizontal stripe near the lower edge, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.

Date	Use	Description
1921-1937	State flag of the Georgian SSR	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton. Approved by the Georgian SSR Revolutionary Committee in 1921.
circa 1922–1937		A red field with a Russian abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton. Most likely an incorrect Russian reconstruction based on the 1921 flags description.
1937–1951		A red field with an inscription of the republic in gold on the canton. Approved by the All-Georgian Congress of Soviets in 1937.
1951–1990		A red field with a light blue canton with red rays around a circle, with a red hammer, sickle and star on the canton, and a light blue stripe along the fly, as approved by the Presidium of the Georgian Supreme Soviet in 1951.
1981–1990	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a light blue canton with red rays around a circle, and a light blue stripe along the fly, as approved by the Presidium of the Georgian Supreme Soviet in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1990–1991	State flag of the Georgian SSR	A crimson field, with a bicolour of black and white in the canton. Approved by the Presidium of the Georgian Supreme Soviet on November 14th 1990. Use continued upon independence until 2004.

Date	Use	Description
1920	State flag of the Azerbaijani SSR	A red field with a white star and crescent in the canton, facing towards the hoist.
1920–1921		A red field with a white star and crescent in the canton, facing towards the fly.
1921–1922		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated green canton. Approved in the Azerbaijani Constitution of 1921.
1922–1924		A red field with gold abbreviations of the republic in two scripts, Latin above and Arabic below, in gold within a golden fimbriated green canton. Approved by the Azerbaijani Central Executive Committee in 1922.
1924–1927		A red field with a hammer and sickle near the hoist, with a right facing star and crescent above it, and gold abbreviations of the republic in Latin and Arabic scripts next to them. Approved in 1924.
1927–1931		The 1924 flag, but with the Azerbaijani Latin abbreviation modified. Approved through the Azerbaijani Constitution of 1927.
1931–1937		A red field with a hammer and sickle near the hoist, with a right facing star and crescent above it, and a gold abbreviation of the republic next to them. Approved through the Azerbaijani Constitution of 1927.
1937–1940		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer and sickle above it. Approved through the Azerbaijani Constitution of 1937.
1940–1952		The 1937 flag, but with the Latin abbreviation replaced with Cyrillic, as approved by the Presidium of the Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet in 1940.
1952-1991		A red field with a blue horizontal stripe on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet in 1952.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a blue horizontal stripe on the lower edge, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1991	State flag of the Azerbaijani SSR	A tricolour of blue, red, and green, with an eight-pointed white star and crescent in the center. Adopted on February 5th 1991. Use continued upon independence.

Date	Use	Description
1941–1952	State flag of the Moldovan SSR	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer and sickle below it, as approved by the Moldovan Supreme Soviet of 1940.
1952–1990	State flag of the Moldovan SSR	A red field with a green horizontal stripe on the center, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Moldovan Supreme Soviet in 1952. Use restored by Transnistria.
1981–1990	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a green horizontal stripe on the center, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1990	State flag of the Moldovan SSR	A vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red, with the republican emblem in the center. Approved by the Moldovan Supreme Soviet on April 27th 1990. Never properly implemented in practice.
1990		A vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red. Approved by the Moldovan Supreme Soviet on May 12th 1990.
1990–1991		A vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red, with the coat of arms in the center. Approved by the Moldovan Supreme Soviet on June 23rd 1990. Use continued upon independence until standardization in 2010.

Date	Use	Description
1919–1920	Flag of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold in the canton. Approved by the Congress of Workers, Landless and Riflemen's Deputies in 1919.
1940–1953	State flag of the Latvian SSR	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer and sickle below it, as approved by the Presidium of the Latvian Supreme Soviet in 1940.
1953–1990	State flag of the Latvian SSR	A red field with wavy white and blue stripes on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Latvian Supreme Soviet in 1953.
1981–1990	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with wavy white and blue stripes on the lower edge, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1988/1990–1991	State flag of the Latvian SSR	A carmine red field with a white stripe in the center. Approved for official use by the Latvian Supreme Soviet on September 29th 1988, became the sole official flag on February 27th 1990. Use continued upon independence.

Date	Use	Description
1937–1940	State flag of the Kyrgyz SSR	A red field with inscriptions of the republic in gold on the canton, Kyrgyz above and Russian below, as approved in the Kyrgyz Constitution of 1937.
1940–1952		The 1937 flag, but with the Kyrgyz Latin script replaced with Cyrillic, as approved by the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet in 1940.
1952–1991		A red field with a blue horizontal stripe on the center, with a small white stripe within, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet in 1952. Use continued after independence until 1992.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a blue horizontal stripe on the center, with a small white stripe within, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.

Date	Use	Description
1929–1931	State flag of the Tajik SSR	A red field with a modified emblem of the Tajik Autonomous SSR in the canton.
1931–1935		A red field with an inscription of the republic in gold in the canton. Approved by the Tajik Constitution of 1931.
1931–1935		A red field with the inscription of the republic in gold in the canton. Considered a more likely design in contrast to the official description.
1935–1938		A red field with inscriptions of the republic in gold on the canton, Tajik above and Russian below, with a hammer and sickle above it. Approved by the Presidium of the Tajik Central Executive Committee in 1935.
1938–1940		The 1935 flag, but with the Tajik inscription modified, as approved in 1938.
1940–1953		The 1938 flag, but with the Tajik Latin script replaced with Cyrillic, as approved by the Presidium of the Tajik Supreme Soviet in 1940.
1953–1991		A red field with white and red stripes on the lower edge, separated by a green stripe, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Tajik Supreme Soviet in 1953. Use continued upon independence until 1992.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with white and red stripes on the lower edge, separated by a green stripe, approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.

Date	Use	Description
1922–1937	State flag of the Armenian SSR	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold in the canton. Approved through the Armenian Constitution of 1922.
1922		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated canton. Based around the design of the Russian SFSR flag.
1923		A red field with a Russian abbreviation of the republic in gold within a golden fimbriated canton. Most likely an incorrect Russian reconstruction based on the 1922 flags description.
1937–1940		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer and sickle above it, as approved in the Armenian Constitution of 1937.
1940–1952		The 1937 flag, but with the abbreviation modified, approved in 1940.
1952–1990		A red field with a blue stripe on the center, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Armenian Supreme Soviet in 1952.
1981–1990	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a blue stripe on the center, approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1990–1991	State flag of the Armenian SSR	A tricolour of red, blue, and orange. Approved by the Armenian Supreme Soviet on August 23rd 1990. Use continued upon independence.

Date	Use	Description
1926–1937	State flag of the Turkmen SSR	A red field with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton, as approved in the Turkmen Constitution of 1926. Design is similar to the flag of the Soviet Union.
1937–1940		A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, as approved in the Turkmen Constitution of 1937.
1940–1953		The 1937 flag, but with the Latin script replaced with Cyrillic. Approved by the Presidium of the Turkmen Supreme Soviet in 1940.
1953–1974		A red field with a light blue stripe in the center, with a red stripe within it, as approved by the Presidium of the Turkmen Supreme Soviet in 1953.
1974–1991		The 1953 flag, but with the hammer, sickle, and star moved closer to the hoist, as approved by the Presidium of the Turkmen Supreme Soviet in 1954. Use continued upon independence until 1992.
1981–1991	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with a light blue stripe in the center, with a red stripe within it, as approved by the Presidium of the Turkmen Supreme Soviet in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.

Date	Use	Description
1940–1953	State flag of the Estonian SSR	A red field with an abbreviation of the republic in gold on the canton, with a hammer and sickle below it, as approved by the Estonian Supreme Soviet of 1940.
1953–1990	State flag of the Estonian SSR	A red field with wavy white and blue stripes near the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Estonian Supreme Soviet in 1953.
1981–1990	Reverse of the state flag	A red field with wavy white and blue stripes near the lower edge, as approved in 1981. Rarely utilized in practice.
1990–1991	State flag of the Estonian SSR	A tricolour of blue, black, and white. Approved by the Estonian Supreme Soviet on May 8th 1990. Use continued upon independence.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1940–1953	State flag of the Karelo-Finnish SSR	A red field with inscriptions of the republic in gold on the canton, Finnish above and Russian below, with a hammer and sickle above it. Approved through the Karelo-Finnish Constitution of 1940.
	1953–1956	State flag of the Karelo-Finnish SSR	A red field with light blue and green stripes on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field, as approved by the Presidium of the Karelo-Finnish Supreme Soviet in 1953. Discontinued upon reintegration into the Russian SFSR.

Date	Proposed Use	Description
1947	State flag of the Russian SFSR	A red field with white and light blue horizontal stripes on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field. Proposed by artist Aleksey Kokorekin [ru].
1949		A red field with white, light blue, and red horizontal stripes on the lower edge, with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton of the red field.
1947		A red field with a gold hammer, sickle and star on the canton, with an abbreviation of the republic in gold below it. Although never officially adopted, there was unofficial usage.
1950		A tricolour of white, blue, and red with a gold hammer and sickle on the blue stripe. Proposed by Mikhail Rodionov, who later was a purge victim in the Leningrad affair for "anti-Sovietism" due to this proposal.

Date	Use	Description
1923	Unofficial flag of the Soviet Union	A red field with a white shield consisting of a red hammer and sickle, with an abbreviation of the nation above it near the hoist. Only known usage at the opening of the Nizhniy Novgorod fair on July 1st 1923.
circa 1930s-1991	Portrait flags	Red flags consisting of portraits of mostly important figures throughout Soviet history within white circles. Most commonly used examples include Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and, between the 1930s and 1950s, Joseph Stalin. Mostly used in demonstrations and parades.
circa 1930s–1991	Unofficial flag of the Soviet Army	A red field with a gold hammer and sickle within a golden fimbriated red star. Although such a design existed, it was never officially adopted by the Soviet Army.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		Flag of the Soviet Union	A red field with a gold hammer, sickle, and star within a golden wreath. Once used in a painting of Lenin from 1929, became popular on the internet around the 2000s, sometimes mistaken as an actual flag used by the Soviet Union.
		Flag of the Soviet Airborne Forces	A blue field with a green stripe on the lower edge, with the symbol of the VDV, a paratrooper with two airplanes on both sides of the parachute, with a golden fimbriated red star. Most likely a post-Soviet design that began circulation in 1992.