35 years ago, the white-red-white flag and the "Pahonia" coat of arms became state symbols
On September 19, 1991, historical symbols were recognized as state symbols. This decision was made by the 12th convocation of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus after the collapse of the USSR.
The national symbols remained state symbols until the 1995 Referendum, when Soviet symbols were returned in their place.
Previously, the white-red-white flag and the "Pahonia" coat of arms were symbols of the Belarusian People's Republic — the first state formation that declared its independence from other countries and used the designation "Belarusian".
The "Pahonia" coat of arms — a knight with a raised sword on a white horse in a red field — has been known in Belarus since ancient times.
It began to be used as the state coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by Grand Duke Vytenis at the end of the 13th century. Images of "Pahonia" adorned all state documents of that time, pages of the "Lithuanian Metrica" and "Statutes".
"Pahonia" was on the flags of the Belarusian-Lithuanian army in all decisive battles of those times — from Grunwald to Orsha.
After the Union of Lublin, "Pahonia", along with the Polish white eagle, was placed on the coat of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and on the royal flag. Even after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century, when Belarus fell under Russian rule, "Pahonia" remained the coat of arms of the Belarusian governorates.
The white-red-white flag in its current form, unlike "Pahonia", has a specific author. The flag was created in 1917 by Klaudzіy Duzh-Dusheŭskі.
In 1917, Belarusian soldiers at the fronts of the First World War also began to wear the white-red-white ribbon to identify their own.
In December 1917, during the All-Belarusian Congress in Minsk, the white-red-white flag was unanimously recognized as the national symbol of Belarus. It became the state flag of the Belarusian People's Republic.
Under Soviet rule, the flag was forbidden.
In the late 1940s, Stalin needed to create flags for the Soviet republics, especially those that were UN members. They were designed based on the flag of the Soviet empire. This flag was approved in 1951.
The coat of arms of the BSSR was adopted in 1927, also based on the coat of arms of the USSR.
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А вось 14 траўня 1995 самы чорны дзень