t23.txt

The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian: Госуда́рственный флаг Сою́за Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Gosudárstvenny flag Soyúza Sovétskikh Sotsialistícheskikh Respúblik), commonly known as the Soviet flag (Russian: Сове́тский флаг, tr. Sovétsky flag), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from several sources, but emerged during the Russian Revolution. The flag is also an international symbol of the communist movement as a whole. The nicknames for the flag were the Hammer and Sickle and the Red Banner.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Names
Flag of the Soviet Union, The Hammer and Sickle; The Red and Gold; The Red Banner[1]
Use
State flag, civil and state ensign [2]
Proportion
1:2
Adopted
December 1922
(original version)
19 August 1955
(last version used)
Relinquished
26 December 1991
Design
A plain red flag with a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton.
The design is a solid field of red adorned with a unique gold emblem in the upper hoist quarter. The red flag was a traditional revolutionary symbol long before 1917, and its incorporation into the flag paid tribute to the international aspect of workers' revolution. The iconic hammer and sickle design was a modern industrial touch adopted from the Russian Revolution. The union of the hammer (workers) and the sickle (peasants) represents the victorious and enduring revolutionary alliance. The famous emblem is topped by a gold-bordered red star representing the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The first flag was adopted in December 1922. In 1923, 1924, 1936 and 1955, a statute on the flag was adopted which resulted in a change of the hammer's handle length and the shape of the sickle. The 1955 version was the final modification to the flag and it continued to be the official national flag until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[3]

Its imagery is now the basis for the flags of many communist parties: a yellow hammer and sickle on a red background.

Today, the flag is used in communist rallies and protests, as well as those nostalgic for the Soviet Union.