Flags, Symbols & Currency of Belarus

The Belarus flag was officially adopted on June 7, 1995. The current design on the Belarus flag is a modification of the flag used during 1951 and approved by a May 1995 referendum. It was introduced by the State Committee for Standardisation on February 10, 2012. The flag was designed by Mikhail Husyev and the decorative red and white Belarusian national ornamentation was designed by Matrona Markevich.

The national flag of Belarus is rectangular and features a red horizontal band (top) and a green horizontal band, covering one-half the width of the red band. A white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornamentation in red. The red band color recalls the past struggles from oppression; while the green band represents hope and the many forests of the country. The decorative national ornamentation is derived from the local plants and flowers and is a traditional design on garments and woven cloth, commonly used in Belarus. The flag has a width-to-length proportion ratio of 1:2.

History of the Flag of Belarus

Before the Soviet-era, there were several flags used by Belarus during the early 20^th century. Its first flag was in plain white connotating the nation’s name: “White Russia”. A red horizontal stripe was later added through the center of the flag. An all-red flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR was used in 1919. In the same year, the flag was modified to include the gold-lettering. This version of the flag was used until 1927, after which the lettering was modified. The newly modified design was used for ten years and after this, the design was again changed to include the hammer, sickle, and red-star. This version of the flag was replaced by the Soviet-era flag in 1951. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Flag was first adopted on December 25, 1951. This flag had unequal horizontal stripes of red and light green; with the golden hammer and sickle and star of communism on the red stripe of the flag. The Belorussian flag was the first flag designed in the Soviet Union to include the distinctive national ornamentation. After the fall of the communist government in 1991, the old white-red-white flag was readopted. On June 7, 1995, the old Soviet flag design was readopted and the hammer and sickle and star emblems were henceforth omitted.

National Anthem

• Anthem Title: "My Belarusy" ("The State Anthem of The Republic of Belarus")
• Music Composer: Niescier Sakalowski
• Lyricist: Michas Klimkovic and Uladzimir Karyzna
• Date of Adoption: September 24, 1955 (only music) and July 2, 2002 (with lyrics)

"My Belarusy"("The State Anthem of The Republic of Belarus") is the national anthem of the Republic of Belarus. It was adopted om September 24, 1955 as the regional anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The music of the anthem of Byelorussian SSR's regional anthem was composed by Niescier Sakalowski and the lyrics were written by Michas Klimkovic. After the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1992, the music composed by Niescier Sakalowski was retained and a new lyrics authored by Michas Klimkovic and Uladzimir Karyzna were officially adopted by a Presidential decree on July 2, 2002. 

The official currency of Belarus is the Belarusian ruble (Br, BYN). The ruble's subdivisions consist of 100 kopeks.

Coins

As a result of the Belarusian ruble redenomination in 2016, the first series of coins came into circulation that year. The coin denominations are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kopeks, and 1 and 2 rubles. For coins up to the denomination of five, copper-plated steel is the main component. The other denominations of coins are struck in brass-plated steel. The national emblem of Belarus appears on all the coins.

Banknotes

The first ruble notes were introduced in 1992 while the introduction of the second ruble banknotes took place in 2000. The third ruble notes came into existence in 2016 with the denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 rubles. De La Rue Company prints these notes. The Belarusian ruble and euro banknotes have similar designs.

History of Currency In Belarus

The first ruble was introduced and used from 1992-2000. Since there was no capacity or license to print the Soviet banknotes, Belarus opted to print the country's national currency to simplify the cash circulation. The currency received different name proposals, but eventually, the word ruble was made its official name.

The introduction of the second ruble took place in 2000 and was in use until 2016. Essentially, the second ruble was a redenomination involving the removal of the three zeros in the first ruble. In 1994, President Alexander Lukashenko suggested monetary integration with Russia. In addition to the idea, there was a suggestion to introduce a combined currency for the Union of Belarus and Russia. In 2008, an implementation took place in a different way when the Central Bank of Belarus announced the tie between the Belarusian ruble and the United States dollar, leaving out the Russian ruble. Consequently, Stanislav Bogdankevich, the previous chairperson of the bank, argued that the decision was politicized in the sense that there was a plan to hike prices of gas and oil exports to Belarus.

The third ruble was introduced in 2016 and it is used in Belarus today. There was a parallel circulation of both kinds of rubles (old and new) starting from July to December 2016. During this period, the government of Belarus also brought coins into circulation for the first time. From July 1, 2016, denominations of banknotes and coins came into circulation.