Banner o the Soviet Union

The banner o the Soviet Union consistit o a plain red flag, wi a cross-peen hammer crossed wi a sickle (the hammer an sickle) an a red starn in the upper canton. The hammer an sickle seembolised the naition's wirkers an peasants while the reid starn representit the rule o the Communist Pairty.

The first flag wi the reid starn, hammer an sickle wis adoptit on November 12, 1923. In 1955, a statute on the flag wis adoptit which resultit in a chynge o the haimer's haundle lenth andthe shape o the sickle. A final modification tae the flag wis adoptit in 1980 in which the colour wis brichtened tae licht reid. The flag continued tae be a naitional flag till the collapse o the Soviet Union.

Seembolism an design

The colour reid haes aaways been positive in the Roushie cultur. The wird red (Roushie: красный, krasny) is etymologically relatit wi the Roushie wirds for vera guid an bonnie. This can an aa be seen in Moscow’s Red Square an the Roushie Orthodox festivity, Red Easter.

It is said that the reid field is seembolism o the bluid that haes been spilled bi wirkers an farmers. It honors the red flag o the Paris Commune o 1871. The ideology o communism can be seen frae the flag. The red starn an hammer an sickle represent communism an socialism. The flag o the Soviet Union consistit o a plain red flag. A gowd hammer is crossed wi a gowd sickle which are placed beneath o a gowd-bordered red starn. This seembol is then placed in the upper left canton o the reid flag.

The hammer seembolizes the naition's industrial wirkers (proletarians) while the sickle seembolizes the naition's agricultural wirkers (peasants)—who thegither formed the state. The red starn representit the rule o the Communist Pairty. The back side o the flag is offeecially juist reid, athoot the seembols. Housomeivver, in practice, the flag wis uisually made through an through an sicweys the seembols uisually appeared on the reverse side an in the reverse order.

The flag's design wis statuted in 1955, which gae a clear wey tae define an creaut the flag. This resultit in a chynge o the hammer's haundle lenth an the shape o the sickle. The adoptit statute stated that:

1. The ratio o width tae lenth o the flag is 1:2.
2. Hammer an sickle are in a square wi sides equal tae ¼ o the flag heicht. Sharp tip o the sickle lies in the centre o the upper side o the square, haundles o hammer an sickle rest in bottom corners o the square. Lenth o the hammer an its haundle is ¾ o the square diagonal.
3. Five-pointit starn is inscribed intae a circle wi a diameter o ⅛ o the flag heicht, the circle is tangent tae the upper side o the square.
4. Distance o the vertical axis o starn, hammer an sickle frae the flagstaff is ⅓ o the flag heicht. Distance frae the upper side o the flag tae the centre o the starn is ⅛ o the flag heicht.

The final design o the flag wis adoptit in 1980. The design wis kept the same except that the backgrund colour wis chynged. The colour wis brichtened frae a near-burgundy crimson tae a licht tae medium reid.