White-red-white flag
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The white-red-white flag ( be, Бела-чырвона-белы сцяг, Biela-čyrvona-biely sciah) is a historic flag used by the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918 before
Western Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...
was occupied by the Second Polish Republic and Eastern Belarus was occupied as a Soviet Republic, then by the Belarusian national movement in Western Belarus followed by widespread unofficial use during the German occupation of Belarus between 1942 and 1944, and again after it regained its independence in 1991 until the 1995 referendum.
Opposition groups In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political party, political parties or other organized groups that are opposed, primarily ideology, ideologically, to the government (or, in American English, the Administration (government)#Uni ...
have continued to use this flag, though its display in
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
has been restricted by the government of Belarus, which claims it is linked with
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
collaboration due to its use by Belarusian collaborators during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The white-red-white flag has been used in protests against the government, most recently the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, and by the
Belarusian diaspora The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants. According to different researchers, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 million Belarusian descendants living outside the territory of the Rep ...
.


Colour scheme


History


Creation

The design of the flag used between 19 September 1991 and 5 June 1995 had originally been devised by the Belarusian Democratic Republic (March to December 1918). The original person behind the design of the flag is believed to have been Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski before 1917 and this design is known in Belarusian as the (; literally "white-red-white flag"). Red and white have traditionally been used in the Coat of arms of Lithuania (), the state heraldry of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
and also the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...
, both of which included lands that are now Belarus. There are several other theories explaining the flag's origin. One theory speaks of an allusion to the name of the country,
White Ruthenia White Ruthenia ( cu, Бѣла Роусь, Bela Rous'; be, Белая Русь, Biełaja Ruś; pl, Ruś Biała; russian: Белая Русь, Belaya Rus'; ukr, Біла Русь, Bila Rus') alternatively known as Russia Alba, White Rus' or W ...
.


Interwar period

In 1918, the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BNR) was proclaimed, the symbols of which became the coat of arms "Pahonia" and the white-red-white flag. On 11 August, the newspaper Svobodnaya Belarus published the first official description of the flag and coat of arms. From 1919 to 1920, the white-red-white flag was used by Belarusian military formations as part of the Polish and Lithuanian armies. In 1920, the flag was used by participants in the
Slutsk uprising The Slutsk uprising () or the Slutsk defence ( be, Слуцкі збройны чын, links=no, translit=Slucki zbrojny čyn) was an unsuccessful armed attempt to establish an independent Belarus. It took place in late 1920, near the end of the ...
. Between 1921 and 1939 the white-red-white flag was used by the Belarusian national movement in Western Belorussia (part of the Second Polish Republic), both by political organisations like the Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union or the Belarusian Christian Democracy, and non-political organisations like the Belarusian Schools Society. The flag was also used by the Belarusian Special Battalion in the Lithuanian army. After the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
and the annexation of modern-day West Belarus in 1939, the flag was forbidden by the Soviet administration in the newly acquired territories as well. File:Belarusian People's Republic Rada (parliament) building (1918).jpg, The White-red-white flag on a government building of the Belarusian People's Republic in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, 1918 File:Flag of Belarus (w-r-w) with Arms (2020).svg, White-red-white flag of Belarus defaced with the historic Pahonia coat of arms File:Flag of Belarus (government in exile, 1919-1925).svg, The flag used by the Belarusian authorities in exile in 1919–1925 File:Bieł-čyrvona-bieły ściah, Pahonia. Бел-чырвона-белы сьцяг, Пагоня (1920).jpg, "Do not abandon our
Belarusian language Belarusian ( be, беларуская мова, biełaruskaja mova, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language. It is the native language of many Belarusians and one of the two official state languages in Belarus. Additionally, it is spoken in some p ...
, so we would not die"
Matsiey Burachok File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0042, Weißrussland, Minsk, Gebäude.jpg, The white-red-white flag being used by the
Belarusian Central Rada The Belarusian Central Council ( be, Беларуская цэнтральная рада, in lacinka: Biełaruskaja centralnaja rada; german: Weißruthenischer Zentralrat) was a puppet administrative body in German-occupied Belarus during World ...
alongside the
Flag of Nazi Germany The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the ap ...
in June 1943 File:1992. Stamp of Belarus 0004.jpg, Belarusian stamp, 1992 File:Emblema Ŭzbrojenych siłaŭ RB (1992-1996).jpg, Belarusian army patch, 1992


Second World War

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the flag was used during
Byelorussian collaboration with Nazi Germany During World War II, some Belarusians collaborated with the invading Axis powers. Until the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the territory of Belarus was under control of the Soviet Union, as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. ...
, being used by the Belarusian Central Council and appearing on arm patches and other insignia worn by the Belorusian Auxiliary Police, Byelorussian Home Defence, and later the Belarusian division of the Waffen-SS. Duzh-Dushewski, the creator of the flag, however refused to cooperate with the Nazi occupation forces and hid a Jewish family in his house, for which he was sent to the Pravieniškės death camp.


Soviet era

After World War II, the flag was used by the
Belarusian diaspora The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants. According to different researchers, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 million Belarusian descendants living outside the territory of the Rep ...
in the West and by a few groups opposing the Soviet government in Belarus itself. In the late 1980s, amid Mikhail Gorbachev's '' perestroika'' and '' glasnost'' program, the flag began to be used as a symbol of national revival and democratic changes in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, which led to the end of the Soviet Union. This concerned the
Baltic republics The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
and Western Belarus, one of the last remaining territories occupied by the Soviet Union leading to Lithuania re-establishing its national symbols in 1988, with Latvia and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
following suit as well as nearby
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
in 1990.


Independence and opposition era

After the
Belarusian Popular Front The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, be, Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in Belarus in the late 1 ...
's proposal, the flag became the new
flag of Belarus The national flag of Belarus is a red-and-green flag with a white-and-red ornament pattern placed at the hoist (staff) end. The current design was introduced in 2012 by the State Committee for Standardisation of the Republic of Belarus, and ...
when it became an independent country in 1991. Following the
1995 Belarusian referendum A four-question referendum was held in Belarus on 14 May 1995, alongside parliamentary elections. The four issues were the possibility of giving the Russian language equal status with Belarusian, whether new national symbols should be adopted, ...
, the white-red-white flag was abolished as a state flag and
Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...
's supporters tore it to pieces on the roof of the Presidential Administration of Belarus. After 1995 the white-red-white flag has been used as a symbol of the opposition to the regime of Lukashenko, most notably during protests after the 2006, 2010, 2015, and the 2020 presidential elections and at mass rallies on Freedom Day celebrations as well as
Dziady Dziady ( Belarusian: , Russian: , Ukrainian: , pl, Dziady; lit. "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, ritual ...
memorial marches. The flag is not officially banned from public usage, but is treated by the authorities as an ''unregistered symbol'' which means that demonstration of it by political activists or sports fans can lead to arrests and confiscation of the flags. In early 2010, political activist Siarhei Kavalenka was arrested for placing a white-red-white flag atop a Christmas tree on the central square of
Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...
. The court gave Kavalenka three years of suspended sentence which was followed by a second arrest and Kavalenka's several weeks long hunger strike. The hunger strike was interrupted by force-feeding on 16 January 2012. According to Vadzim Smok in his research paper of 2013, only 8% of Belarusians considered the white-red-white flag as Belarus' true flag. The flag has been widely used by opposition supporters during the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests in rallies in support of presidential candidate
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (' Pilipchuk;, , ; russian: Светлана Георгиевна Тихановская, , Svetlana Georgiyevna Tikhanovskaya, , , born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian educator and the leader of the Bel ...
, and later after the disputed elections, in which, according to the official statement of the Central Election Commission, the current president of the country, Alexander Lukashenko, won the majority of votes. A popular variant used by protesters is the white-red-white flag with the historic Pahonia coat of arms. Initially though, there are reports that some opposition supporters have also used the current flag. As of 7 December 2020, Belarusian authorities are drafting a law that could ban the white-red-white flag.


Relationship to other flags

The white-red-white flag is almost identical to the flag of Wyszków in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, the flag of Berlare in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, flags of
Brielle Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New ...
and Enschede in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and the flag of the
Atlántico Department Atlántico (, en, Atlantic) is a department of Colombia, located in northern Colombia with the Caribbean Sea to its north, the Bolívar Department to its west and south separated by the Canal del Dique, and the Magdalena Department to its ...
in Colombia. The unrelated
flag of Austria The flag of Austria ( de-AT, Flagge Österreichs) is the flag of the nation of Austria. It consists of three bands of colour in the following order: red, white, and red. The Austrian flag is considered one of the oldest national symbols sti ...
has the colours reversed. Creators of the so-called " Russian anti-war flag" used in the
2022 anti-war protests in Russia {{Infobox civil conflict , title = 2022 anti-war protests in Russia , partof = the protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Russian opposition protest rallies , image = , caption = Pic ...
list the similarity to the white-red-white flag as among its advantages.


See also

*
Flag of Belarus The national flag of Belarus is a red-and-green flag with a white-and-red ornament pattern placed at the hoist (staff) end. The current design was introduced in 2012 by the State Committee for Standardisation of the Republic of Belarus, and ...
*
Flag of South Vietnam The flag of South Vietnam was first introduced by the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam, later served as the national flag of the State of Vietnam (known as "South Vietnam" after 1954), and its successor, the Republic of Vietnam (South Vi ...
* White-blue-white flag


References


External links

*
The white-red-white flag of Belarus – Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic
{{portal bar, Belarus National flags National symbols of Belarus Flags introduced in 1918 Flags introduced in 1991 Flag controversies