South Ossetia

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History[]

(Ossetian: Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани тырыса, romanized: Tsagât Irešton – Âlâni terešâ) and the Republic of South Ossetia (Ossetian: Хуссар Ирыстоны тырыса, romanized: Xuššâr Ireštone terešâ) is a tricolour, top to bottom white, red, and yellow. The flag is also said to represent the social structure of ancient Ossetian society, which was divided into three social groups forming an organic whole: the military aristocracy, the clergy, and ordinary people.[citation needed] The colours symbolise moral purity (white), martial courage (red) and wealth and prosperity (yellow). In blazons, the flag is described as Per fess Argent and Or, a fess Gules.

The flag was prescribed by the South Ossetian Constitution of November 26, 1990 and confirmed by the Regulation on the National Flag of March 30, 1992. The flag of North Ossetia-Alania was set in law on October 2, 1991, but in December the middle stripe was changed to purple, and then changed back to red on November 24, 1994.

The flag is also used by the pro-Georgian Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia, formerly based in Kurta, which opposes the Russian-backed separatist government in Tskhinvali.

The flags of North Ossetia-Alania and South Ossetia are almost identical. Both flags have identical proportions (1:2). The flag is also similar to that of the Austrian state of Carinthia, the latter being essentially an ‘upside-down’ version of the Ossetian flag.

Historical flags[]

Trivia[]

This flag’s colour scheme is similar to candy corn.