The Flag of Ossetia is a tricolor flag, top to bottom white, red, and yellow, used by the

Ossetian people The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label= Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the n ...

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. ...

, a region spanning both sides of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

. The flag is used by three distinct

political entities A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...

: The

Republic of North Ossetia–Alania A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

(a federal subject of Russia), the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, and the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

-established Administration of South Ossetia.

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

has been under the control of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

since the 2008

Russo-Georgian war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

and is mostly unrecognized by the international community. Georgia considers the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia to be the legal government of South Ossetia.

History

North Ossetia

Under the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, the

North Ossetian ASSR The North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( os, Цӕгат Ирыстоны Автономон Советон Социалистон Республикӕ, Tsagât Ireštone Âvtonomon Šovêton Šotsiâlišton Rêšpublika; russian: ...

changed flags several times. The present flag was adopted on 2 October 1991 shortly before the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, and then reinstated on 24 November 1994.

South Ossetia

Between 1922 and 1990, South Ossetia was an autonomous oblast of the

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

known as the

South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (russian: Юго-Осетинская автономная область, ka, სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი, os, Хуссар Ирыстоны ав� ...

. As an autonomous oblast, it did not have its own flag, instead the

Flag of Georgian SSR The flag of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted by the Georgian SSR on April 11, 1951. It was the only Union Republic flag in which the hammer and sickle was not gold in colour. History Before 1937 the flag was red with the Geo ...

was used for official purposes. The flag of the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania was prescribed by the South Ossetian Constitution of 26 November 1990 and confirmed by the Regulation on the National Flag of 30 March 1992. Unlike North Ossetia, South Ossetia did not use the variant with the violet stripe from 1991 to 1994, instead continuously using the variant with the red stripe. The Administration of South Ossetia was established by the Government of Georgia in April 2007. It uses the Ossetian flag together with 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 � ...

Presidential flag

The Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania maintains a

Presidential standard The presidential standard or presidential flag is the flag that is used in many countries as a symbol of the head of state or president. In some countries it may be for exclusive use of the president or only raised where the president is present. An ...

for use by the

President of South Ossetia The president of the Republic of South Ossetia ( os, Хуссар Ирыстоны президент, russian: Президент Южной Осетии) is the ''de facto'' head of state of the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia ...

when serving in an official capacity as the head of state. Although the flag is often the coat of arms centered on the flag, there is no codified presidential standard, and as such several variants have been used. Flag of the President of South Ossetia.svg,

of theRepublic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania South Ossetia Presidential Flag variant 1.gif, Variant presidential standard with coat of arms at top File:South Ossetia Presidential Flag variant 2.gif, Variant presidential standard with coat of arms on orange field

Design

Symbolism

The flag is said to represent the social structure of ancient

n society, which was divided into three social groups forming an organic whole: the military aristocracy, the clergy, and ordinary people. The colors symbolize moral purity (white), martial courage (red) and wealth and prosperity (yellow). In

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

s, the flag is described as ''Per fess Argent and Or, a fess Gules''. The proportions are 1:2.Республика Северная Осетия - Алания
Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry. 15 July 2007. Accessed 25 June 2021.

Color scheme

Gallery

Standard of the head of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania.svg, Standard of the head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania File:Flag of South Ossetia (vertical).svg, Flag of Ossetia as a vertical banner File:Параде_Победы_в_Цхинвале_05.jpg, Military parade in South Ossetia: flags visible on licence plates and on bunting File:Ossetian protest in the Hague-1.jpg, Protestors with Ossetian flags in front of the seat of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossetia, Flag of National flags Flags introduced in 1990 Flag Flag Flags of the federal subjects of Russia