The coat of arms and the flag of Abkhazia today and in past years

Abkhazia is a small country with a pleasant climate and fascinating history. During its existence, this state has changed its official status more than once. The changes concerned the main characters. What does the flag of Abkhazia look like today, and what was it like earlier?

The modern banner

The main state symbol, used today, has standard proportions of 1: 2. The main part of the flag of Abkhazia is occupied by cross strips, there are only seven of them. They are painted in green and white with alternating through one. In the upper left corner of the canvas is a red rectangle, against which there is an open palm and seven stars above it.

What does the flag of Abkhazia mean and how can such a complicated drawing be decoded? White color strips symbolize the spirituality of the people and high morality, green depicts the natural wealth of the state - the sea and mountains. The white palm is a historical symbol, and the stars, stretched out above it, characterize the seven main regions of Abkhazia. They are Sadzen (Djigeticia), Bzyp, Gumaa, Abja, Samurzakan, Dal-Tsabal, Pshhui-Aibga.

The modern flag of Abkhazia: the meaning and history

The open white palm (one of the elements of the modern state symbol) is known for more than 12 centuries. The first official mention of this figure dates back to the thirteenth century. The symbol was depicted on the sea charts. Flags with this image developed over the ancient city of Sebastopolis, today it is the capital of Abkhazia - Sukhum. Its history begins this town in the IV century BC. Under the ancient Greek name Dioscuria. Later modern Sukhum was also called San Sebastian, its modern history under the current name, it begins in 1724. What does the ancient scarlet flag mean with a white hand? The opinions of experts on heraldry in this issue are somewhat divergent, but they are unanimous in that the open hand symbolizes the mood to establish business contacts with neighboring states, promises honesty and decency, perhaps - help to neighboring nationalities.

Abkhazia: flag and coat of arms of the country

As in any other state, in addition to the national flag in Abkhazia, the second significant symbol is also registered - the coat of arms. It is made in traditional colors for the country. They are white, green and gold (yellow).

The basis of the emblem is an elongated rounded bottom shield, vertically it is divided into two equal halves. One part is painted white, the second - in green. Above the shield is a rider with a bow, flying on a horse, and three stars. This figure is executed in yellow, just like the rim of the shield. It is easy to decode the image, it is an illustration of the national heroic epic. The rider is Nartha Sasrykva, who, together with his Bzou horse, performed feats for the sake of saving siblings. The big star depicts a revival, and the small one represents a union of eastern and western cultures.

The flag and the emblem under the constitution of 1925

Already in 1925 the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia had its own symbol. On a red background, yellow color depicted a typical connection for the period of sickle and hammer, lower were the letters indicating the country - SSRA, and above the main composition, the contour was a five-pointed star. The flag was described in the Constitution of 1925, the main figure occupied a relatively small area of the total size of the background and was in the upper left corner. The Third All-Abkhazian Congress of Soviets also approved the second main symbol of the state - the coat of arms. Like the flag of Abkhazia of that time, he had an ornament in the form of a sickle, a hammer and a star. As a background, the landscape of the country was used, and the rim was a bunch of cultivated plants. There were also inscriptions - "SSR Apsny" ("SSR Abkhazia") and "Aproletartsea ateylakua zegy rfi ikou, shafeeidyshkal!" ("Workers of all countries, unite!").

The CRA flag from 1931 to 1992

During the existence of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia, the flag changed six times. The state symbol acquired its modern form only in 1992 after the collapse of the USSR. In 1931, under the updated version of the constitution, the word "Autonomous" was included in the name of the Republic. The golden star disappeared from the flag, and the state's name instead of the abbreviation began to be written in full words. In 1935, the reduction was returned to the canvas, which is remarkable - it looked like the "ASSR". The flag of Abkhazia became more solid - the letters were now placed next to the sickle and hammer, the star again shone above the main picture. Under Stalin, the drawings disappeared from the state symbol, only the inscriptions "Georgian SSR" and "Abkhazian SSR" - each in Russian, Georgian and Abkhaz languages. Then there were red-blue flags with and without letters, but with the same image of the sickle and hammer in the sun. The last flag of Abkhazia as SSR consisted of the name of the republic and the golden sun, made in contour technique. This variant of the sign was approved in 1989 and was used until July 23, 1992, when a new drawing of the country's main banner was approved.