Flag of Turkmenistan

The national flag of Turkmenistan consists of a white crescent and five stars placed on a green background at the top of the flag near a vertical red stripe with five carpets. Introduced as the flag of Turkmenistan on September 27, 1992, it replaced the Soviet-era flag. National Flag and Constitution Day is celebrated on May 18.

What does the flag of Turkmenistan mean?

• The white crescent symbolizes Islam;
• five stars represent the five regions of the country and the five pillars of Islam;
• five carpets symbolize Turkmen tribes and the country's famous carpet industry;
• the color green is defined as a symbol of the Muslim faith, nature and fertility of the land. In the context of Islam, green is associated with light and life;
• red symbolizes heroism, strength, courage and social unity;
• white is used as a symbol of purity, virtue, peace and hospitality.

History of the flag of Turkmenistan

The flag of the Russian Empire was the official flag of Turkmenistan until 1914 and then for another 3 years until 1917, only with a slightly different design - the coat of arms appeared in the upper left corner on a yellow background. Then, up until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan used various variations of flags similar to the Soviet ones - a red base with a crescent moon, star, or hammer and sickle. 

Since 1937, the flag has had a solid red background with a golden inscription in the upper left corner - TSSR. Since the 1940s, the flag has not changed, but the abbreviation was written in Cyrillic. In 1953, the flag was redesigned, reintroducing the hammer and sickle and the five-pointed star above them, as well as two blue lines in the middle, along the flag. Between independence in 1991 and the adoption of the new flag in February 1992, this flag remained the national flag of independent Turkmenistan.

After gaining independence in 1991, on February 19, 1992, Turkmenistan adopted a flag that was very similar to the current design. In 1997, two crossed olive branches were added to symbolize the peaceful nature of the Turkmen people and their status of permanent neutrality. In 2001, the aspect ratio of the flag changed from 1:2 to 2:3.