This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

Ukraine

Last modified: 1998-01-07 by rob raeside
Keywords: ukraine | europe | commonwealth of independent states | trident | triglav |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors


Zeljko Heimer, 1996-06-05

History

Recent developments

The Open Media Research Institute reported that on 3 September 1996 the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) had approved the country's national symbols as specified by the constitution [OMRI, #171, 1996]. Parliament also decided to organise a competition on the design of the state arms and the words of the national anthem. The 'tryzub' (trident) is the state arms, and the competition will decide the details of the design. The new constitution was adopted by Parliament 28 June 1996 (the date was declared a national holiday) and only confirmed the national symbols that were already in use [OMRI, #204, 1996]. OMRI offered no details on the action of the parliament, nor did they give any descriptions of the symbols. Article 20 of the constitution states that the 'The description of the state symbols of Ukraine and the order of their use is determined by law' [IFES]:

"ARTICLE 20.
The state symbols of Ukraine are the State Flag of Ukraine, the State Emblem of Ukraine and the State Anthem of Ukraine. The State Flag of Ukraine is a banner made from two equal horizontal blue and yellow fields. The Great State Emblem of Ukraine shall be determined in accordance with the Small State Emblem of Ukraine and the Emblem of the Zaporiz'ke Viys'ko (Zaporizhzhya Cossacks Army) by law, which shall be adopted by no less than two-thirds of the Constitutional membership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The main element of the Great Emblem of Ukraine is the Sign of the State of Prince Volodymyr the Great (the Small State Emblem of Ukraine). The State Anthem of Ukraine is the national anthem with the music of M.Verbytskiy and words, confirmed by law, which shall be adopted by no less than two-thirds of the constitutional membership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The description of the state symbols of Ukraine and the order of their use is determined by law, adopted by no less than two-thirds of the constitutional membership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The capital of Ukraine is City of Kyiv."

Provisional legislation

Ukraine declared independence from the USSR on 24 August 1991. MPs celebrated the event by carrying a huge light blue and yellow flag through the assembly hall of the Parliament [Ukrainian Weekly, 1996]. Ukrainians approved the independence proclamation in a referendum held 1 December 1991. Provisional legislation [W. Smith, 1992] concerning the flag was adopted on 4 September 1991, with opposition from the Communists. This legislation therefore also made the Soviet era flag official, and the two flags were hoisted side by side (even on the same flag pole). The light blue over yellow flag was in proportions 1:2. The situation was changed 21 January 1992, when the light blue and yellow flag became the only flag of Ukraine. The proportions of the flag were then set to 2:3. The trident arms were adopted on 19 February 1992 [W. Smith, 1992].

Origins and history

In the 19th century, the area inhabited by Ruthenians, as the Ukrainians were then known, was divided between Russia and the Austrian Empire. Austria got Galicia after the partition of Poland in 1772. Territory was later added, including the Duchy of Bukovina. From 1815, the former Polish possessions of Austria were known as the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Ukrainians were a majority only in the eastern parts of this kingdom. As a kingdom, Galicia had three flags (see Ukrainian Galicia page).

The origins of Ukraine's flag can be traced back to the convention of the Supreme Ruthenian Council, meeting in Lviv in October 1848. At this meeting, an emblem (coat of arms) for the Ukrainians was adopted. This was a golden rampant lion on blue [Encyclopedia Ukraine, Flag Bulletin, 1992]. At the same time, (light) blue and yellow was accepted as the national colours of the Ukrainians. For flags, both the golden crowned lion on a (light) blue field, and the yellow over (light) blue, were used [Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia]. The Ukrainian colours became popular throughout Ukrainian lands, including those under Russia, but the order of the colours was not stable.


by Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-07

Ukraine: Flag based on arms adopted by Supreme Ruthenian Council, Lviv, 1848. Source: Arms depicted in Flag Bulletin, No 142, 1991 (Andrzej Wocial: 'Symbols of Carpatho-Ukraine').

The first opportunity for Ukrainians to adopt the blue and yellow as a national flag came with the break up of the Austrian and Russian empires as a result of World War I. The Ukrainian National Republic (UNR) was proclaimed on 20 November 1917. This was planned as a republic within a (future) Russian federation. However, because of the Bolshevik takeover in Russia and the war launched into Ukraine, independence was declared 22 January 1918. On the same day, the national flag of yellow over light blue was adopted. A naval ensign with a trident had been adopted a few days earlier, on 18 January 1918 [Encyclopedia Ukraine].


by Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-07

Ukraine: National flag adopted 22 March 1918.

On 29 April 1918, a coup overthrew the UNR government. General Pavlo Skoropadsky set up the 'Hetmanate of Ukraine' ('Hetman' is an old title used by certain military leaders). The flag was now changed to light blue over yellow. At the same time, a new naval ensign and 'several dozen' flags for various government services were introduced. The Hetmanate lasted until 14 December 1919, when Hetman Skoropadsky stepped down and the UNR was restored. Under the restored UNR, the national flag of light blue over yellow was not changed again and the other flags from the Hetman regime were used with only 'minor changes' [6]. Independence was soon lost to the Bolsheviks and Ukraine eventually became a union republic of the USSR.

In the Austrian parts of Ukraine, in Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia, a Western Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR) was declared in October 1918. A flag, blue over yellow, was adopted by this republic on 13 November 1918 [Encyclopedia Ukraine]. Union between the UNR and WUNR was declared 22 January 1919, but was never properly implemented because of the war that broke out with the Poles. Poland took control of Galicia, and kept it until the area became part of Ukraine and the USSR after World War II.

Another territory populated by Ukrainians, Transcarparthia, became a province of Czechoslovakia in 1919, where it was named Subcarpathian Ruthenia. On 20 March 1920 a provincial flag of blue over yellow was adopted [Encyclopedia Ukraine]. In 1938, Hungary started occupying the province step by step. Despite the Hungarian occupation (which lasted until the end of World War II), the provincial assembly proclaimed the territory independent as Carpatho-Ukraine on 15 March 1939. The national flag of Carpatho-Ukraine was also blue over yellow [Encyclopedia Ukraine]. After World War II, Carpatho-Ukraine was incorporated into Ukraine.

Under Communism, the light blue and yellow flag of Ukraine was almost forgotten in the Eastern and Central parts of the country, the parts that belonged to the USSR from the time this union was formed. In Western Ukraine, which was part of Poland, the flag was used for a longer period and memory of it survived. Despite persecution of nationalists under Stalin, there were a few instances (heavily punished) of the light blue and yellow flag being displayed as acts of demonstration. It was in Lviv and Western Ukraine that the use of the flag was revived in the Spring of 1989, mostly by nationalist and human rights organizations, such as 'Rukh', 'Ukrainian Helsinki Union' and others [Krawchenko, 1990]. Two and a half years later, the flag became the national flag of independent Ukraine. The other national symbol, the 'tryzub', is now finally also found on the new Ukrainian kopeck coins, introduced on 2 September 1996. It is here surrounded by a wreath of wheat and oak leaves [Numismatics].

Contemporary special flags and arms

There are some reports of a Ukrainian naval ensign, jack and flag for the Ukrainian Border Guard. [Flagmaster, 1994] showed the naval ensign as a blue cross throughout on a white field with the blue over yellow charged with the 'tryzub' (without the shield), in the canton. The flag of the Border Guard was reported as being green with a canton of blue over yellow and with the arms (golden trident on a blue shield bordered in gold). Flagmaster noted the lack of official documentation for these flags.

The war flag (naval ensign?), jack, and flag of the Border Guard are shown in colour in the latest issue of Info-bulletin, 1996. There is no explanation or documentation. The war flag is shown as a consisting of a dark blue cross on a white field. In the canton is the light blue over yellow with the arms (yellow trident on yellow bordered light blue shield) set on a white disc in the centre. The jack is light blue over yellow with the trident arms on the circle in the centre. The flag of the Border Guard is the same kind of canton set on a green field. All flags are about 2:3 in proportions.

War Flag and Naval Ensign(?)

[Ukrainian Ensign]
by Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-07

Ukraine: War flag (Naval Ensign?), adopted 199?. Source: Info-Bulletin, No. 91, 1996. More information on this flag is appreciated.

Jack

[Ukrainian Jack]
by Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-07

Ukraine: Jack, adopted 199? Source: Info-Bulletin, No. 91, 1996. More info appreciated.

Jos Poels posted to me more information about ensigns and jacks of the Ukrainian navy. According to information he received from vexillologists in Ukraine, the ensign and jack have not been officially adopted. Because of parliament's inability to adopt such flags, the navy has started making their own unofficial flags, often made on board. Consequently, there is a large number of designs, none of them official.
Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-15

Border Guard


by Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-07

Ukraine: Flag of the Border Guard, adopted 199? Source: Info-Bulletin, No. 91, 1996. More info on this flag is appreciated.

Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-07

Ukrainian Arms


by Zeljko Heimer, 1996-09-22

State symbol of Ukraine, acting temporarily as the state arms.

I can add that the emblem of Ukraine that is used now is the trident (without the shield) surrounded with an uvar wreath of leaves of unknown species. I had an official paper of the Ukrainian embassy in Zagreb, but I can't find it now. The emblem was there black on white. As you pointed out, the details of the state arms of Ukraine are not yet determined (BTW, neither are the Russian ones), so this might be just a temporary solution. On the other hand, this might be similar to the French emblems used instead of the state coat of arms.
Zeljko Heimer, 1996-09-08

I have seen several versions of the arms of Ukraine in various books. One book (Norwegian translation of Talocci) depicts it as a red trident on a blue shield. In Karl-Heinz Hesmer's Flaggen und Wappen der Welt it is shown as a golden trident surrounded by 10 golden disks on a shield of light blue. Could the version you describe be the one they now use on coins, with the trident surrounded by branches of wheat and oak?
Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-09-08

I haven't got any good explanation what kind of leaves would that be in the wreath. They resemble coffee beans, but that is certainly not the case. However, this highly simplified design is, IMHO very attractive.
Zeljko Heimer, 1996-09-22

The Trident

Taken from Ukrainian Info Web

Trident (tryzub). The official coat of arms of Ukraine is a gold trident on an azure background. As a state emblem the trident dates back to Kievan Rus', when it was the coat of arms of the Riuryk dynasty. There are various theories about its origins and meaning. A trident was the symbol of Poseidon, the sea god of Greek mythology. It has been found in different societies, such as the Bosporan and Pontic kingdoms, the Greek colonies on the Black Sea, Byzantium, Scandinavia, and Sarmatia, and has been used in various ways:
    a religious and military emblem,
    a heraldic symbol,
    a state emblem,
    a monogram,
    and simply a decorative design.
The oldest examples of the trident discovered by archaeologists on Ukrainian territory date back to the 1st century AD. At that time the trident probably served as a symbol of power in one of the tribes that later became part of the Ukrainian people. The trident was stamped on the gold and silver coins issued by Prince Volodymyr the Great (980-1015), who perhaps inherited the symbol from his ancestors as a dynastic coat of arms and passed it on to his sons, Sviatopolk I (1015-19) and Yaroslav the Wise (1019-54). Iziaslav Yaroslavych (1054-78), Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych (1093-1113), and Lev Danylovych (1264-1301) used the bident (two prongs) as their coat of arms. Although the trident continued to be used by some ruling families as a dynastic coat of arms until the 15th century, it was replaced as a state emblem in the 12th century with the Archangel Michael.

The trident was also used as a religious symbol in Ukrainian folklore and church heraldry. The trident appeared not only on coins but also on the bricks of the Church of the Tithes in Kiev (986-96), the tiles of the Dormition Cathedral in Volodymyr-Volynskyi (1160), and the stones of other churches, castles, and palaces. It was also used as a decorative element on ceramics, weapons, rings, medallions, seals, and manuscripts. Because of its wide use in Rus' the trident evolved in many directions without losing its basic structure. Some of the variations include the bident, the trident with a cross on one of the arms or at the side, and the trident with a half-moon. Almost 200 medieval variations on the trident have been discovered.

At M. Hrushevsky's recommendation Prince Volodymyr's trident was adopted by the Little Rada (12 February 1918) and the Central Rada (22 March 1918) as the coat of arms of the UNR. By that act the UNR leaders linked the modern Ukrainian state with the medieval state of Kievan Rus'. The Great and Minor state emblems of the UNR were designed by V. Krychevsky. The trident also appeared on the UNR banknotes, which were designed by H. Narbut, O. Krasovsky, V. Modzalevsky, Krychevsky, and others. It was retained as the official coat of arms by the Hetman government and the Directory. The trident with a crossed middle arm was confirmed on 18 July 1918 as the emblem of the Black Sea Fleet.

On 15 March 1939 the Diet of Carpatho-Ukraine adopted the trident with a cross as its official coat of arms. On 19 February 1992, after the restoration of Ukraine's independence in 1991, the Supreme Council accepted the trident as the chief element in the state coat of arms. Various versions of the trident are used by Ukrainian organizations: supporters of the Hetman regime and certain affiliates of the Ukrainian Catholic church use a trident with a cross, nationalist organizations use a trident with a sword in the middle (designed by R. Lisovsky), and the Ukrainian Native Faith church has incorporated the trident into its blazing sun emblem.

Giuseppe Bottasini

Sources of Information

  1. pintarbersamamedan.org
  2. https://pintarbersamamanado.org
  3. https://pintarbersamasorong.org/dana
  4. TOGEL HONGKONG
  5. DATA SGP
  6. TOGEL SIDNEY
  7. DATA SGP
  8. TOGEL HK
  9. pengeluaran sdy
  10. TOGEL SIDNEY
  11. TOGEL HONGKONG
  12. DATA HK
  13. TOGEL
  14. https://elk-mountain.com/