CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) was founded on December 8, 1991. This organization arose immediately after the collapse of the USSR. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on the founding of the CIS. Later, other former republics of the USSR joined the Commonwealth, except for the Baltic states.
CIS flag: the history of official legalization
Each state and interstate association has its own symbols: flag, emblem, coat of arms , etc. CIS cannot be an exception to the rule. For some reason, the question of approving the organization’s flag did not arise immediately after the signing of the agreement in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The first projects appeared in 1994. In the same year, the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries approved the draft Regulation on the flag and emblem of the organization.
The formalization of the external symbols of the international organization continued in 1995. The fact is that on May 13 of this year a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was held in its entirety, at which the provision on the CIS flag and its description were officially approved. There was one more formality that remained: the presidents of the CIS states had to sign the documents. This event occurred on June 19, 1996.
Description of the flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Flags of many states or organizations arose on the basis of some historical elements. In addition, state symbols, images on them often have a certain ideological burden. If we talk about the flag of the CIS, then it was created artificially. There is no historical or particular ideological essence.
What does this symbol look like? The base is a rectangular blue canvas. Let's look at the center of the flag. There we will see a white figure. Many may have an association that they see their arms stretched upward toward the sky with some kind of appeal. But these are just vertical lines and ring-shaped strips. In the center is a circle of golden color. Observing this composition, we understand that the CIS is a peaceful organization that professes the principles of equality and partnership between states.
Ukrainian flag
We will also talk about the flags of the CIS republics. Let's start with the Ukrainian symbol. The symbol of Ukraine was officially approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on January 28, 1992. In theory, this day should be considered the Day of the National Flag, but lawmakers have found another option. This national holiday, which does not have the status of an official day off, is celebrated on August 23, before the celebration of Ukraine's Independence Day on August 24.
What does a flag look like? This is a rectangular canvas. The top of the flag is blue, the bottom is yellow. If you divide the canvas into 5 parts, then the blue will be 2/5, and yellow - 3/5. Such coloring means "sky" and "earth". It was under this flag that military units formed on the territory of Ukraine took part in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.
State flag of the Russian Federation
The current Russian flag is a tricolor. Historically, in appearance the Russian flag is similar to similar symbols of some European states: France, Slovenia, Czech Republic and some others. It’s not worth talking about complete identity. With French, only colors are common. If we compare the flag of Russia with the symbol of Slovenia, we will find absolute identity, but additional images are still printed on the Slovenian canvas.
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin of December 11, 1993 approved the description of the Russian flag. This is a rectangular canvas, which consists of three identical (as stated in the text of the decree, "equal") stripes. The color of the upper strip is white, the middle is colored blue and the lower, respectively, red. In 2000, the Russian Federation adopted the constitutional law "On the State Flag".
Flags of the CIS republics
A quick glance at the state symbols of the CIS countries, we will see that on most paintings there are three colors. For example, take the flag of the state of Armenia. The symbol shows three identical stripes of red, blue and orange. A canvas of the same colors was the flag of Armenia in 1919, when the nation fought for its independence. The Belarusian symbol of national sovereignty has also united three colors. There are two horizontal (red and green) and one vertical stripes (red-white, with an ornament).
Flags of the CIS countries, photos of which are given in the article, are very beautiful. For example, the Moldovan flag shows the emblem of the country. We see three vertical stripes of the same size. The left is blue with a tinge of azure, the middle (where the coat of arms is painted) is yellow, and the most extreme (right) is red. By the way, it is symbolic that the red color on the flags of the CIS republics does not bring anything good. This we can say for sure (Russia, Armenia, Moldova).
Flags of the former CIS of the Central Asian region are also original in their own way. On most of the paintings, we observe astronomical symbols: the sun, moon, stars. Of course, this makes sense, because Eastern culture and traditions have always been strong. For example, consider the flag of Turkmenistan. The general background is green. On the left we see a red-burgundy (the color of power and wealth) strip, on which 5 national symbols are depicted. Near this strip a crescent and five white stars are depicted.
Conclusion
The CIS flag (photo attached) is an artificially created image that does not bear any historical tradition. In principle, this is logical, because the CIS members, in addition to the period of their stay in the USSR, do not have much in common. The nationalities of the countries can be divided into several ethnic groups that are tightly interconnected, having common historical roots.