Flag Facts Friday

The current Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal bands of yellow and blue, the colors represent the wide blue skies and the yellow represents the wheat fields that characterize the country. From a psychological point of view, blue symbolizes calm, whilst yellow symbolizes joy.

The current color combination has its roots in the 12th-century flag of the Galicia–Volhynia kingdom. Officially, the flag was first used as a state flag in 1918 when it was officially adopted by the short-lived West Ukrainian People’s Republic and then used by the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

Like Russia, when Ukraine fell under the control of the Bolsheviks the national blue and yellow flag was outlawed. It was only until 1949 that the country adopted the Ukrainian SSR flag which remained the flag of state until 1991 when the country gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the yellow and blue flag was restored in 1992.