WikipediaExtracts:Flag of the Soviet Union
Extracted from Wikipedia --
The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian: Госуда́рственный флаг Сою́за Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик Gosudárstvenny flag Soyúza Sovétskikh Sotsialistícheskikh Respúblik), or simply the Soviet flag (Russian: Сове́тский флаг Sovétsky flag), was a red banner with two communist symbols displayed in the canton: a gold hammer and sickle topped off by a red five-point star bordered in gold. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from several sources, but emerged during the Russian Revolution. It has also come to serve as the standard symbol representing communism as a whole, recognized as such in international circles, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The plain red flag, which was a traditional revolutionary symbol long before 1917, was incorporated into the Soviet flag to pay tribute to the international aspect of the workers' revolution. On the other hand, the unique hammer-and-sickle design was a modern industrial touch adopted from the Russian Revolution; it represented the "victorious and enduring revolutionary alliance" by unifying the hammer (i.e., workers) and the sickle (i.e., peasants). The gold-bordered five-point star situated above the hammer and sickle was a representation of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
The first flag was adopted in December 1922. In 1923, 1924, 1936 and 1955, statutes were adopted that resulted in adjustments to the hammer's handle length and the sickle's shape. In 1980, an amendment was made to the 1955 decree that removed the hammer and sickle displayed on the flag's reverse side, though the legal description remained completely unchanged. The design of the 1955 Soviet flag served as the basis for all of the flags of the Union Republics.
