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4 days ago · Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; U.S.S.R.), former northern Eurasian empire (1917/22–1991) stretching from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean and, in its final years, consisting of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics. The capital was Moscow, then and now the capital of Russia.
Officially, the red color of the flag was to represent the heroic struggle of the Soviet people, led by the Communist Party, for the construction of socialism and communism.
Design. A plain red flag with a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton. The first official flag of the Soviet Union was adopted in December 1922 at the first congress of the Soviets' USSR. The red flag of the communist party was adopted as the national flag.
Flags of the Soviet Republics. The flags of the Soviet Socialist Republics were all defaced versions of the flag of the Soviet Union, which featured a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star (the only exception being the Georgian SSR, which used a red hammer and sickle and a fully red star) on a red field.
In the Soviet era all Russian flags were based on the Red Banner, which had its roots in the French Revolution and, possibly, even earlier peasant uprisings. After the formation of the Soviet Union, the official state flag contained a gold hammer, sickle, and gold-bordered red star in the upper hoist corner.
1 Flags of the Soviet Republics. 1.1 Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. 1.2 Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. 1.3 Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. 1.4 Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. 1.5 Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. 1.6 Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic. 1.7 Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the President of the USSR, declaring the office extinct. He turned the powers that had been vested in the presidency over to Yeltsin. That night, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time, and the Russian tricolour was raised in its place.
