Flag of Armenia 417424 220963127 2008-06-22T12:31:53Z Treisijs 2847625 Adding [[lv:Armēnijas karogs]] {{featured article}} {{Infobox flag |Name = Armenia |Image = Flag of Armenia.svg |Use = 111000 |Proportion = 1:2 |Adoption = [[August 24]], [[1990]] |Design = A horizontal [[tricolour]] of [[red]], [[blue]], and [[orange (colour)|orange]] }} The national '''flag of Armenia''', the '''Armenian Tricolour''' (known in [[Armenian language|Armenian]] as եռագույն, ''Erraguyn''), consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, [[red]] on the top, [[blue]] in the middle, and [[orange (colour)|orange]] on the bottom. The Armenian [[Supreme Soviet]] adopted the current [[flag]] on [[August 24]], [[1990]]. On [[June 15]], [[2006]], the Law on the National Flag of [[Armenia]], governing its usage, was passed by the [[Azgayin Zhoghov|National Assembly of Armenia]]. Throughout history, there have been many variations of the Armenian flag. In ancient times, Armenian dynasties were represented by different symbolic animals displayed on their flags.<ref name="evolution">{{cite web |url=http://www.armenianheritage.com/hiflag.htm |title=The Evolution of the Armenian Flag |accessdate=2007-01-05 |work=Armenianheritage.com}}</ref> In the twentieth century, various [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] flags represented the Armenian nation. ==Symbolism== The meanings of the colors have been interpreted in many different ways. For example, red has stood for the blood shed by Armenian soldiers in war, blue for the Armenian sky, and orange represents the fertile lands of Armenia and the workers who work them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vexilla-mundi.com/armenia_flag.html |title=Armenia |accessdate=2007-01-06 |work=Vexilla Mundi}}</ref> The official definition of the colors, as stated in the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, is: {{cquote|Red symbolizes the Armenian Highland, the Armenian people's continued struggle for survival, maintenance of the [[Christianity|Christian faith]], Armenia's independence and freedom. Blue symbolizes the will of the people of Armenia to live beneath peaceful skies. Orange symbolizes the creative talent and hard-working nature of the people of Armenia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.am/enversion/armenia/flag.htm |title=The flag of the Republic of Armenia |accessdate=2007-01-06 |work=Government of Republic of Armenia}}</ref>}} ==Design== Since the Armenian government does not specify the exact shades of red, blue, and orange, two different versions of the flag are in common use. The more common version consists of brighter shades, whereas the colors of the less common version are more muted. The following table gives the approximate [[RGB]] values of the colors used in those two versions:<ref>The Jasc Paint Shop Pro program was used to collect the RGB values for the listed flags.</ref> {| border="1" style="background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: nowrap; text-align: center" |- style="background: #eee" ! ! More common version ! Less common version |- ! style="background: #eee" | | [[Image:Flag of Armenia.svg|200px]] | [[Image:Flag of Armenia (variant).svg|200px]] |- ! style="background: #eee" | Red | 255-0-0 | 216-28-63 |- ! style="background: #eee" | Blue | 0-0-170 | 85-117-196 |- ! style="background: #eee" | Orange | 255-153-0 | 239-107-0 |- |} ==History== {{see|List of Armenian flags}} [[Image:Artaxiad standard2.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV historical.svg|23x15px]]Artaxiad Dynasty 189 BC - 1 AD]] [[Image:1885ArmenianFlag.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV historical.svg|23x15px]] Alishan's 1885 design. Flag Ratio: 1:2]] Today's [[tricolour|tricolor]] flag bears little resemblance to the earliest Armenian 'flags'; in ancient times, armies went into battle behind carvings mounted on poles. The carvings might represent a dragon, an eagle, a lion or "some mysterious object of the gods."<ref name="evolution" /> With the advent of Christianity, the Armenian empire adopted many different flags representing various dynasties. The [[Artaxiad Dynasty]]'s flag, for instance, consisted of a red cloth displaying two eagles gazing at each other, separated by a flower. ===19th century=== After Armenia was split between the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] and [[Ottoman Empire]]s, the idea of an Armenian flag ceased to exist for some time. The [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholic]] [[priest]] Father [[Ghevont Alishan]] created a new flag for Armenia in 1885, after the [[Armenian Students Association of Paris]] requested one for the funeral of the French writer [[Victor Hugo]]. Alishan's first design was very similar to today's Armenian flag: a horizontal tricolor. However, it looks more like an upside-down variation of the current [[flag of Bulgaria]]. The top band was red, symbolizing the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), followed by a green band to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination.<ref name="evolution" /> While in [[France]], Alishan also designed a second flag, identified today as the "Nationalist Armenian Flag." It too was a tricolor, but unlike the previous design, this one was a vertical tricolor similar to the [[Flag of France|French flag]]. Its colors were red, green, and blue, from left to right, representing the rainbow that [[Noah]] saw after landing on [[Mount Ararat]].<ref name="evolution" /> ===Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic=== [[Image:Flag of the Transcaucasian Federation.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV historical.svg|23x15px]] Flag of Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (1918). Flag Ratio: 1:2]] In 1828, [[Persian Armenia]] was annexed to the [[Russian Empire]] after the last [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)|Russo-Persian War]], and became known as [[Russian Armenia]]. When the Russian Empire collapsed, Russian Armenia declared its independence and joined the short-lived [[Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]], together with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan]]. This unified state hardly lasted a year and was soon dissolved. Since the Republic was short-lived, it did not use any flags or symbols. Nevertheless, some historians consider a horizontal gold, black, and red tricolor, similar to that of the [[Flag of Germany|German flag]] but arranged differently, to have been flag of Transcaucasia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hrono.rspu.ryazan.ru/heraldicum/flagi/gruzia/federat.htm |title=Закавказская Федерация (Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic) |accessdate=2006-12-27 |date=2003-05-30 |publisher=Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry |language=[[Russian language|Russian]]}}</ref> The federation was dissolved on [[May 26]], [[1918]], when Georgia declared its independence as the [[Democratic Republic of Georgia]]. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan declared their independence two days later, on [[May 28]], [[1918]], as the [[Democratic Republic of Armenia]] (DRA) and the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR), respectively. ===Democratic Republic of Armenia=== [[Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of Armenia.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV historical.svg|23x15px]] Flag of Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) 1918–1922. Flag Ratio: 2:3]] [[Image:Flag of Transcaucasian SFSR.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV historical.svg|23x15px]] Flag of Transcaucasian SFSR 1922–1936.]] After gaining independence, the Democratic Republic of Armenia adopted the modern Armenian tricolor. Upon [[Stepan Malkhasyan]]'s appearance in the Armenian National Council,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hrono.rspu.ryazan.ru/heraldicum/flagi/armenia/ar.htm |title=Республика Армения (Democratic Republic of Armenia) |accessdate=2006-01-09 |date=2003-03-28 |publisher=Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry |language=[[Russian language|Russian]]}}</ref> the independent Armenian government selected the colors used during the last period of [[Rubenid Dynasty]], red, blue and yellow. An earlier prototype, which was eventually rejected, was a rainbow flag. This prototype can be seen at the Martiros Saryan House Museum in Yerevan, Armenia. They chose to replace the yellow with orange "because it merged better with the other two colors, presenting a more pleasing composition."<ref name="evolution" /> The flag of independent Armenia then had a ratio of 2:3, but on [[August 24]], [[1990]], when the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted it as the flag of the Republic of Armenia, the ratio was changed to 1:2.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fotw.net/flags/am_.html#1918 |title=Armenia: First Republic (1918–1921) |accessdate=2007-01-09 |work=Flags of the World}}</ref> ===Early Soviet Armenia and the Transcaucasian SFSR=== {{main|Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR}} On [[November 29]] [[1920]] [[Bolshevik]]s established the [[Armenian SSR]]. A new flag was introduced and fixed in the constitution, accepted on [[February 2]] [[1922]] by the First [[Congress of Soviets]] of the Armenian SSR.<ref name="ArmSSR">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrono.ru/heraldicum/flagi/armenia/assr.htm |title=Cоветская Армения (Soviet Armenia) |accessdate=2007-01-20|date=2004-11-14 |publisher=Russian Centre of Vexillology and Heraldry |language=[[Russian language|Russian]]}}</ref> That flag existed only for a month, because on [[March 12]] the Armenian SSR united with the [[Georgian SSR]] and the [[Azerbaijan SSR]] under the [[Transcaucasian SFSR]] (TSFSR). On [[December 30]] [[1922]] the Transcaucasian SFSR became one of the four Soviet republics that united to form the [[USSR]]. The flag of the republic had a [[hammer and sickle]] inserted into a star with initials "ЗСФСР" (ZSFSR) written in Russian sans-serif script. These letters stand for ''Закавказская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика'' (''Zakavkazskaya sovetskaya Federativnaya Socialisticheskaya Respublika'', "Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic").<ref name="ArmSSR"/> In 1936, the TSFSR was broken up into its three constituent regions, which were named the Georgian SSR, the Armenian SSR, and the Azerbaijan SSR. ===Armenian SSR=== {{main|Flag of the Armenian SSR}} [[Image:Flag of Armenian SSR.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV historical.svg|23x15px]] Flag of Soviet Armenia 1952–1990. Flag Ratio: 1:2]] As a [[Republics of the Soviet Union|republic of the USSR]], the Armenian SSR introduced its first flag in 1936. Very similar to the [[flag of the Soviet Union]], it was red and featured a yellow [[hammer and sickle]] in the corner. Underneath that, there were "H-Kh-S-H" initials written in Armenian serif script. These initials, in the [[Western Armenian language]], stand for "''Haygagan Khorhurtayin Sodzialistakan Hanrabedutyun''," or the "Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic." In the 1940s, the flag was altered to use the [[Eastern Armenian language]] spoken in the Republic. The initials were changed to "H-S-S-R" meaning "Hayastani Sovetakan Sotsialistikakan Respublika" in the Eastern Armenian pronunciation. In 1952, a new flag was introduced. The initials were removed completely and in their place a horizontal blue stripe was added. In late May 1988, amid rising nationalist tensions, Armenia's new Communist party leader allowed the banned tricolour of the DRA to fly in [[Yerevan]] for the first time in over sixty years.<ref>De Waal, Thomas. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War'', pp. 60-1. NYU Press, 2003, ISBN 0814719457.</ref> A year later, following a [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]-themed mass demonstration where the tricolour was flown, he urged its official recognition.<ref>King, Sarah Sanderson and Cushman, Donald P. ''Political Communication: Engineering Visions of Order in the Socialist World'', p. 102. SUNY Press, 1992, ISBN 0791412016.</ref> This came on [[August 24]] [[1990]], a day after the Armenian Supreme Soviet declared the republic's sovereignty and renamed the country the Republic of Armenia. At that point, just over a year before Armenia declared its formal independence from the USSR, the tricolour replaced the 1952 flag. ==Usage== [[Image:ArmenianEmbassyWashingtonDC01.jpg|150px|thumb|The flag waving at the Armenian Embassy in Washington, D.C.]] The 2006 law on the National Flag of Armenia states that the flag has to be raised on the following public buildings: *Residence of the President *Parliament *Government *Constitutional court *Office of Public Prosecutor *[[Central Bank of Armenia]] *other governmental buildings The Law requires to lower the flag to the midpoint of the flagpole on the days of mourning or during mourning ceremonies. A black ribbon needs to be placed at the top of the flag; the length of the ribbon should be equal to the length of the flag. The flying flag has to be raised in its entirety, clean, and unfaded; moreover, the lower part of the flag should be at least 2.5 m off the ground.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laws.am/DocumentView.aspx?docID=21339 |title=The Law of the Republic of Armenia about the national flag |accessdate=2008-03-28 |language=Armenian |publisher=Armenian Legal Information System}}</ref> === National flag days === The daily display of the Armenian flag is encouraged, but legally required only on the following days:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fdw.html |title=Flag Days Of The World |accessdate=2006-12-29 |publisher=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://un.cti.depaul.edu/public/Armenia/1/English/ |title=About Armenia |accessdate=2006-12-29 |publisher=Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United Nations}}</ref> * [[January 1]], [[January 2]]{{ndash}} New Year * [[January 6]]{{ndash}} Christmas * [[March 8]]{{ndash}} International Women's Day * [[April 7]]{{ndash}} Motherhood and Beauty Day * [[May 1]]{{ndash}} International Worker's Solidarity Day * [[May 9]]{{ndash}} Victory and Peace Day * [[May 28]]{{ndash}} First Armenian Republic Day, 1918 * [[July 5]]{{ndash}} Constitution Day, 1995 * [[September 21]]{{ndash}} Independence Day, 1991 * [[December 7]]{{ndash}} [[1988 Spitak earthquake|Spitak Earthquake Memorial Day]], 1988 ==Influence== [[Image:Flag of Nagorno-Karabakh.svg|thumb|200px|right|[[Image:FIAV defacto.svg|23x15px]] Flag of Nagorno-Karabakh. Flag Ratio: 1:2]] On [[June 2]], [[1992]], the self-proclaimed [[Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh]] adopted a [[Flag of Nagorno-Karabakh|flag]] similar to the Armenian tricolor. A white, five-toothed, stepped carpet pattern was added to the flag, beginning at the two verges of the cloth’s right side and connecting at a point equal to one-third of the distance from that side.<ref name="nkr">{{cite web |url=http://www.nkr.am/eng/gov/atributy.html |title=Attributes of Statehood |accessdate=2007-01-09 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh}}</ref> The white pattern symbolizes the current separation of [[Artsakh]] (Nagorno-Karabakh) from Armenia proper and its aspiration for eventual union with "the Motherland."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/az-artsa.html |title=Flag of Artsakh / Nagorno-Karabakh |accessdate=2007-01-09 |publisher=Flags of the World}}</ref> The ratio of the flag’s breadth to its length is 1:2, same as the Armenian Tricolor.<ref name="nkr" /> In addition to the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian flag colors influenced the design of the Pan-Armenian Games flag. In the center of the light blue flag are six interlocking rings, derived from the [[Olympic rings]]. The sixth, orange-colored ring, interlocks with the blue and red rings, which symbolize Armenia. Above the rings is a flame in the colors of the Armenian flag.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/am@.html |title=Armenia: Sport flags |accessdate=2007-01-09 |publisher=Flags of the World}}</ref> The national flag is also mentioned in the song "[[Mer Hayrenik]]", the [[national anthem]] of Armenia. Specifically, the second and third stanzas sing about the creation of the national flag: {{Quote|<poem> Here brother, for you a flag, That I made with my hands Nights I didn't sleep, With tears I washed it. ''(repeat previous two lines)'' Look at it, three colors It's our gifted symbol. Let it shine against the enemy. Let Armenia always be glorious. ''(repeat previous two lines)''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalanthems.info/am'.htm |title=Lyrics of Mer Hayrenik |accessdate=2007-01-10 |publisher=National Anthems.net}}</ref> </poem>}} == See also == {{Portal|Armenia|Flag_of_Armenia.svg}} * [[Coat of arms of Armenia]] * [[List of Armenian flags]] == References == {{reflist|2}} == External links == {{Commonscat|Flags of Armenia}} * {{FOTW|id=am|title=Armenia}} * [http://www.armenianheritage.com/hiflag.htm The Evolution of the Armenian Flag] * {{ru icon}} [http://www.hrono.ru/heraldicum/flagi/armenia/index.htm Flags of Armenia] * [http://www.armenica.org/armenia/gerb.html Armenica.org] - Symbolic values and information about the Armenian flag and coat of arms {{Armenia topics}} {{Flag of Europe}} {{Asia topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Asia]]}} {{nationalflags}} [[Category:National flags|Armenia]] [[Category:National symbols of Armenia]] [[ar:علم أرمينيا]] [[bs:Zastava Armenije]] [[bg:Национално знаме на Армения]] [[ca:Bandera d'Armènia]] [[cs:Arménská vlajka]] [[cy:Baner Armenia]] [[da:Armeniens flag]] [[de:Flagge Armeniens]] [[et:Armeenia lipp]] [[el:Σημαία της Αρμενίας]] [[es:Bandera de Armenia]] [[eu:Armeniako bandera]] [[fr:Drapeau de l'Arménie]] [[hy:Հայաստանի դրոշը]] [[hr:Zastava Armenije]] [[bpy:আর্মেনিয়ার ফিরালহান]] [[id:Bendera Armenia]] [[it:Bandiera armena]] [[he:דגל ארמניה]] [[lv:Armēnijas karogs]] [[lt:Armėnijos vėliava]] [[hu:Örményország zászlaja]] [[nl:Vlag van Armenië]] [[ja:アルメニアの国旗]] [[no:Armenias flagg]] [[nn:Det armenske flagget]] [[pl:Flaga Armenii]] [[pt:Bandeira da Armênia]] [[ro:Drapelul Armeniei]] [[ru:Флаг Армении]] [[simple:Flag of Armenia]] [[sk:Vlajka Arménska]] [[sr:Застава Јерменије]] [[fi:Armenian lippu]] [[sv:Armeniens flagga]] [[th:ธงชาติอาร์เมเนีย]] [[vi:Quốc kỳ Armenia]] [[tr:Ermenistan bayrağı]] [[uk:Прапор Вірменії]] [[zh:亚美尼亚国旗]]