The flag of the Lithuanian SSR was first adopted by the

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

in 1918, which was a plain red flag. After

was established again in 1940, the flag was a red flag with the national name and a hammer and sickle in the upper canton. The flag in use from 1953 to 1989 was a red flag with the golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star in its upper canton with a white thin stripe and green thick band on the bottom.

History

During the

Lithuanian–Soviet War The Lithuanian–Soviet War or Lithuanian–Bolshevik War ( lt, karas su bolševikais) was fought between newly independent Lithuania and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in the aftermath of World War I. It was part of the la ...

, the first Lithuanian SSR used a plain red flag. This was later adopted by Lithuanian–Byelorussian SSR (Litbel). When Lithuanian SSR was established again as a republic of the USSR, it adopted a new national flag on July 30, 1940. The flag was red with the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

characters ''LIETUVOS TSR'' (Lithuanian SSR in the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 mill ...

) in gold sans-serif typeface in the upper canton, and a gold hammer and sickle below the text. On July 15, 1953, a new flag was adopted. It was modified to meet the new requirements for all flags of the

Soviet socialist republics The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...

. The top red portion took of the width and incorporated the mandatory hammer and sickle and red star. The bottom part could be customized by each republic. Lithuania added a narrow white ( of the width) and a larger green ( of the width) strips. The green and white stripes thus represented the country's wide fields and forests, which serve the country's agricultural and forestry industries. On November 18, 1988, the tricolor of Lithuania was adopted as the flag of the SSR, even before Lithuania declared independence in March 1990, being formally re-adopted on 20 March 1989. The

Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR ( lt, Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausioji Taryba; russian: Верховный Совет Литовской ССР, ''Verkhovnyy Sovet Litovskoy SSR'') was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) of the ...

, inspired by pro-independence

Sąjūdis Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...

, amended the constitution and adopted the tricolor

flag of Lithuania The national flag of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos vėliava) consists of a horizontal tricolour of yellow, green, and red. It was adopted on 25 April 1918 during Lithuania's first period of independence (in the 20th century) from 1918 to 1940, wh ...

that was used during the interwar years.

Legal status

Since Lithuania banned Soviet symbols in 2008, raising or otherwise using the Lithuanian SSR flag in public is illegal.

References

Soviet Socialist Republic The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic {{USSR-stub

History

Legal status

See also

References