Belarus Flag

How to identify it

Red over green in two unequal bands, with a vertical strip of red-on-white traditional ornament running down the flagpole edge.

Design and construction

Proportions

1:2

Adoption and legal status

A design approved in a disputed May 1995 referendum, adapted from the 1951 Byelorussian SSR flag with the hammer, sickle and red star removed and the ornament's colours reversed; restated by the 2004 law on state symbols and updated in appearance by a 2012 standardisation decree.

Construction

Two horizontal bands, red (two-thirds of the height) over green (one-third), with a vertical red-on-white national ornament pattern occupying one-ninth of the length at the hoist.

Officially documented meaning

Per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flag is a symbol of Belarusian state sovereignty; the vertical strip reproduces a traditional Belarusian decorative weaving pattern.

History of the design

A separate white-red-white flag, used by the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic in 1918 and again after 1991 until the 1995 referendum, is banned by the government but is used by the opposition and diaspora, including during the 2020-2021 protests.

Sources