Subnational flags of the Soviet Union (original) (raw)


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Last modified: 2021-07-24 by rob raeside
Keywords: deface | scarlet | purpure | heraldry |
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Soviet subnational flags

In the USSR only SSRs and ASSRs had the right to the coats of arms and flags. Krays, oblasts, autonomous oblasts and autonomous okrugs (till 1977 called national okrugs) had no flags and coats of arms. They used flags and coats of arms of the SSRs, in structure of which they were. Cities and rayons also had not any flags.
Mikhail Revnivtsev, 19 October 2005

Usage

In 1936-1980ths the ASSR flags were “rare”. I think they were flown only upon Parliaments and Governments of the ASSRs. In Moscow they flew nowhere.
Victor Lomantsov, 25 October 2000

While I was in Russia, I questioned intensively several people about vex apects of the Soviet society, and what I got about ASSR flags is very scarce as they seem to be very seldom used. In Chuvashia, where I lived, many people even didn’t knew that there was an ASSR flag, and never saw it — though it was, as usual, almost identical to theRSFSR flag. The latter, though, was also an infrequent sighting, being the Soviet national flag the almost exclusively used flag in most occasions (this may have been different in non-Russian republics).
António Martins, 24 October 2000

1918 tricolor flags allowed?

I was aware at the time that Mikhail Gorbachev had decided to let Latvia, Lithuaniaand Estonia fly their 1918 national flags, in addition to their S.S.R. flags.
John Crosby, 23 May 2001

Design

ASSR flags were identical to the respective SSR flags but defaced with its name (complete or initials only) written across in golden letters. Meanwhile, a oks, unlike SSRs and ASSRs, didn’t have flags of their own.
António Martins, 11 March 2000 and 25 May 2001

Names of ASSRs on flags were usually written in “national” language and in language of the republic of which the ASSR was part.
Victor Lomantsov, 21 December 2001

The flag of Russia was the only SSR flag only with non-horizontal stripes, while the flag of Byelorussia had the only one with both.
Steve Stringfellow and António Martins, 12 and 13 March 2000

Colors

The post-1949 Soviet flags scheme: Mainly red (scarlet), with distinguishing features for each republic’s flag; for republic’s autonomous subdivisions (only ASSRs), the republic flag with the appropriate inscription in golden letters. Soviet SSR flags had two shades of blue, as expected, considering they were Russian language based (the known "goluboĭ / sky blue vs. siniĭ / blue blue" issue):

SSR flags (and mostSoviet flags containing red) were medium red (aka scarlet, alyĭ, or simply krasnyĭ), not dark red (aka purpure — purpurnyĭ or kropovyĭ). The word "krasnyĭ" means simply red, regardless of the exact shade, but in those rare Soviet/Russian flags using a darker hue this was/is specifically stated. Likewise, a “dark” shade of yellow (golden) was prescribed and used.
António Martins, 07 November 2000 and 10 May 2000

It should be noted that in some cultures, notably in Germany, golden is sometimes rendered with a greenish hue, usually light greenish yellow, but this is not so in Russia, where golden is usually rendered as dark yellow or light orange.
António Martins, 28 January 2001

Lettering

Names of ASSRs on Soviet flags usually were written in the local language and in language of the “metropolis” — i.e., the republic of which the autonomy was a part of.
Victor Lomantsov, 21 December 2001

On flags of autonomous republics (ASSR) in structure of the RSFSR there could not be inscriptions on the national languages located above of inscriptions in Russian language. Absolutely authentically.
Mikhail Revnivtsev, 25 October 2006

Until the 1950s the abbreviation in the Russian language (and other “Soviet” languages) were with dots between letters (for example "C.C.C.P.", later "CCCP").
Victor Lomantsov, 21 October 2000

The exact face used on ASSR flags was one of Smith’s unanswered doubts in the special number of The Flag Bulletin dedicated to Soviet vexillology [smi72]. For what is worth, Sokolov shows some times serif and others sans type faces on his articles, and there’s also the questions of case (all upper case, capitalized plus lower case or capitalized plus small caps), and abbreviation.
António Martins, 24 October 2000

I would not be surprised if it is determined that ASSR flags were produced in very small amounts (at any given time only a couple of copies, used in selected locations?), and thus the size, position, face, style and content of the distinguishing inscription would be either unspecified legally or in practice ignored, and would vary with the ad hoc opinion of the flag maker…
António Martins, 24 October 2000

Banners of Soviet Republics

Many (all?) Soviet republics had these banners. Usually it was red field with republican coat-of-arms and the name of republic. They had gold fringe. I know about banner of Azerbaijan, banner of Uzbekistan. I saw photos of L. Brezhnev, leader of the Communist party, attaching a various awards (Orders of Lenin etc) to these banners. I don’t know about any official Regulation for these banners.
Victor Lomantsov, 09 January 2002

A similar flag was sent to me from Moldova SSR. The flag is a 1:1 ratio, red background with green stripe, the only exception is that the coat of arms is in color, located in the center.
Zachary Harden, 09 January 2002

I saw the mysterious red banner with emblem of RSFSR too. For example, Yeltsin stood near this flag on inauguration ceremony. May be it was some sort of banner (colour) of RSFSR.
Victor Lomantsov, 09 January 2002

I am not at all surprised. They must have been popular, not the least because they look much more “ceremonious” the the rather simple (“boring”) Soviet flags.
Željko Heimer, 09 January 2002

Coats of arms

The emblems of the ASSRs were similar to their appropriate SSR, but with additional inscription in several languages identifying the ASSR.
Željko Heimer, 20 September 2001

Two republics in USSR had round Arms: Armeniaand Georgia.
Victor Lomantsov, 24 October 2000

Interesting ideas that pop up when comparing these 15 emblems, especially regarding the political atmosphere of the adoption time, the local heraldic traditions, and the more or less clumsy management of the delicate balance between nationalism and “internationalism” in the Soviet Union:

I think it shouldn’t be called coat of arms when it is not heraldic arms, which these Soviet emblems are not. They may have the same purpose as coats of arms, but they do not follow the rules of heraldry — and that was made on purpose, because the communists (wrongly) connected heraldry with the late Emperor and the upper class.
Elias Granqvist, 01 November 2000

In fact they were emblems, because they did not follow the rules of classical heraldry. But nominally (in Constitutions) they were «coats of arms» (gerby). The first Soviet coat of arms (RSFSR, 1918) had a shield, motto etc. The “coat of arms” of Ukrainian SSR had a shield too. But later Soviet “coats of arms” became more and more “unheraldic”…
Victor Lomantsov, 01 November 2000

Exactly breaking of that rule made a strong political expression that the Soviet wanted to express. The “new society” formed by the revolution needed «new symbols», and adopted those parts of heraldry (conscious or not) that suited the purpose while rejecting and changing what suited not. What is important is that this “new heraldry” took it roots and still today we can see the influences in symbols of states (and other corporate bodies) all over the world. Only among the national coats of arms there are easily found examples of shield-less coat of arms, mainly influenced by Soviet “heraldry” (though, there are other reasons, too, why some countries rejected the shield in their coats of arms).
Also, one can with more or less success, more or less artificially, suggest that the shields «are there, only not so obvious». Like in the case ofKazakhi SSR, the shield of Gules field might be “seen” with edges being hidden behind the ears. Other “coloured” shields might be seen in some other Soviet coats of arms. The circular coats of arms might be considered to be circular shields, in many cases traditional to those countries anyway. But, indeed such theory must be very stretched for the examples of Baltic SSRs (Estonia, Latviaand Lithuania) orBelarusian SSR coats of arms. It may be that those last are more non-heraldic then others possibly also because these are the countries with much stronger heraldic tradition then other countries of the Soviet Union, and here maybe the “deheraldization” was to be most practiced.
Željko Heimer, 02 November 2000

About the administrative structure of the Soviet Union

The SFSR status indicated that that republic itself was a federation of several ASSRs (Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republics), possibly also with "non-ASSR" territory, so to speak, as in the case of the Russian SFSR. However, this was not linear, since at least in recent times other republics of the Soviet Union had ASSRs and where not SFSRs themselves. This is the case of Azerbaijan(with Nakhtchevan ASSR),Georgia (withAdjaria ASSR andAbkhazia ASSR) andUzbekistan (with Karakalpakia ASSR). The Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic remained the only SFSR since theTranscaucasian SFSR split.
Jorge Candeias, 26 March 1999

In the 1920ths many autonomous republics in RSFSR did not use the word "autonomous" in their names. But they were really autonomous (not independent, not “full status republics”). For example, Tatarstan, Bashkiria etc. These republics until 1930ths used the names SSR. Later, the “standard form” of the state name was introduced: ASSR for autonomies, SSR for “full republics”.
Victor Lomantsov, 21 October 2000

a oks (previously, n oks — Soviet era names were identical to the current, with "nacionalhnyĭ" instead of "avtonomnyĭ" before 1977), unlike SSRs and ASSRs, didn’t have flags of their own.
António Martins, 17 September 2001

Till 1936 in USSR kray means administrative-territorial unit, which contains autonomous SSR. After 1937 in USSR Kray contains autonomous regions or simple regions (for example, Primorsky Kray in the RSFSR or Tselinny Kray in the Kazakh SSR). National districts (after 1977 — autonomous districts) were included and into structure simply regions: into Region of Omsk, further — into Region of Tyumen; into Region of Kalinin, into Region of Magadan, into Region of Arkhangelsk.
Mikhail Revnivtsev, 07 October 2005

In the beginning of the 1920ies the autonomous republics Dagestan and Kazakhstanused the name "SSR" although they had an autonomous (ASSR) status.
Jens Pattke, 23 June 2001

Chronology