Abkhazia is a region in the Caucasus that is under the effective control of the partially recognised self-declared

Republic of Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...

. The ''de jure'' majority internationally recognized

Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised State (polity), state in the South Caucasus, International recognition of Abkhazia and ...

claims to be its legitimate government.

Republic of Abkhazia

The flag of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1991 by Valeri Gamgia.Аргун Ю.Г. (''Argun Yu. G.'')
О Государственном флаге
(''On the state flag'') (XLVIII итоговая научная сессия (11-13 мая). тезисы докладов. - Сухум: АбИГИ, 2004, с. 3-4) It was officially adopted on 23 July 1992. The design of the red

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

is based on the banner of the medieval

Kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; lit. "Kingdom of the Abkhazians"), also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through d ...

. The open right hand means "''Hello to friends! Stop to Enemies!''". The seven stars in the canton have since been reinterpreted to correspond to the seven historical regions of the country: Sadzen, Bzyp, Gumaa,

Abzhywa Abzhywa ( ab , Abzhuaa - "middle people" – Абжьыуа, ''Abƶywa''; also transliterates as Abzhua from Russian: Абжуа, Абжива; ka, აბჟუა) is one of the seven historical regions in Abkhazia, and accordingly one of th ...

, Samurzaqan, Dal-Tsabal and Pskhuy-Aibga.Государственные символы
Seven is a number sacred to the Abkhaz and the green and white stripes represent the tolerance that allows

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

to coexist. File:Apsua Childs waving Apsny Flag.jpg, Abkhazian children waving miniature flags of Abkhazia File:Apsny Flag With Helicopter.jpg, Helicopter towing the Abkhazian flag File:Apsua Holding Apsny Flag.jpg, Parade exhibiting Abkhazian flags File:Republic of Abkhazia flag.jpg, Flag of Abkhazia on flagpole

Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia

As no official flag has been adopted for use by the

, the

flag of Georgia Flag of Georgia may refer to: *Flag of Georgia (country) The flag of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სახელმწიფო დროშა, tr), also known as the five-cross flag ( ka, ხუთჯვრიანი � ...

is used by the Government of Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. A flag has been proposed by the Georgian State Council of Heraldry for the region that combines the flag of Georgia with green and white stripes of the Abkazhian flag. File:Flag of Georgia.svg, Flag of Georgia File:Flag of Abkhazia (GE).svg, Proposed flag of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia

Historical flags

Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus

The

Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus (MRNC; also known as the United Republics of the North Caucasus, Mountain Republic or the Republic of the Mountaineers) was a country in the North Caucasus formed by the unification of Circassians ...

was a state that declared independence in 1917 from both the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

and White Russian forces during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. It claimed Abkhazia as its territory, but Abkhazia was also claimed and occupied by the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to F ...

. The purported flag of the Mountain Republic contains several elements that would later be included in the Abkhazian flag, including seven green and white horizontal stripes and a canton with seven stars. In the North Caucasian flag, the seven stars and stripes represented the regions of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...

, Chechen- Ingushia,

Ossetia Ossetia ( , ; os, Ирыстон or , or ; russian: Осетия, Osetiya; ka, ოსეთი, translit. ''Oseti'') is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. ...

, Abkhazia, Karbadia,

Adygea The Republic of Adygea (; russian: Республика Адыгея, Respublika Adygeya, p=ɐdɨˈɡʲejə; ady, Адыгэ Республик, ''Adıgə Respublik''), also known as the Adyghe Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Ru ...

, and Karachay-

Balkaria The Balkars ( krc, Малкъарлыла, Malqarlıla or Таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-C ...

. File:Flag of the Mountain Republic.svg, FIAV_historical

Flag of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus (c. 1917)

Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia

The flag of the SSR Abkhazia was adopted in 1925 when the SSR Abkhazia ratified its constitution. It was used until 1931, when the SSR Abkhazia was transformed into the Abkhaz ASSR with a different flag. File:Flag of Abkhazian SSR.svg, FIAV historical

Flag of the Socialist Soviet Republic Abkhazia (1925–31)

Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

The flag of the Abkhaz ASSR was introduced in 1978 and used until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The previous flag used between 1931 and 1978 was identical to the flag of the Georgian SSR, and in 1978 the name of the Abkhaz ASSR was added written in the Abkhaz

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...

. File:Flag of Abkhazian ASSR.svg, FIAV historical

Flag of the Abkhaz ASSR introduced in 1978

Flag on stamps

File:Flag of the SSR of Abkhazia, 1925.jpg, The flag of the SSR of Abkhazia on an Abkhazian stamp. The flag on the stamp does not match with the description on the constitution. File:StampRepublicOfAbkhaziaFlag.jpg, The flag of the Republic of Abkhazia on an Abkhazian stamp. File:StampRepublicOfAbkhaziaGamgia.gif, Another Abkhazian flag on a stamp

References

External links

Flag of Abkhazia at FOTW
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abkhazia, Flag of National flags

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags of states with limited recognition Flag of the Socialist Soviet Republic Flags introduced in 1992

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which ...