Flag of Estonia

Republic of Estonia
National flag
UseCivil flag and ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is congruent with obverse side Design has no element that can be rotated
Proportion7:11[1]
Adopted21 November 1918; 106 years ago (1918-11-21)
DesignA horizontal tricolour of blue, black, and white
Naval ensign
UseNaval ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Proportion7:13
Adopted1922
DesignTricolour, swallowtail, defaced with the shield of the state arms off-set towards hoist.
The flag of Estonia waving above the Pikk Hermann tower of Toompea Castle in Tallinn.

The national flag of Estonia (Eesti lipp) is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue at the top, black in the centre, and white at the bottom. The flag is called sinimustvalge (lit. 'blue-black-white') in Estonian.

The tricolour was already in wide use as the symbol of the nation, when the Republic of Estonia became a fully independent country in 1918. Formally, the tricolour became the national flag by the decision of the Estonian government on 21 November 1918, and the parliament later reconfirmed the flag's official status with a law in 1922.[2]

The tricolour was publicly used as the national flag until the first year of World War II, when the Soviet army invaded and occupied Estonia in June 1940. Following the annexation of Estonia by the USSR in August 1940, the new Stalinist regime banned the Estonian flag, and its use as well as any use of its blue, black and white colour combination became punishable by laws of the Soviet Union.[3] The national flag was from 1940 until 1991 continuously used by the Estonian government-in-exile, diplomatic service, and the diaspora of Estonian refugees around the world. In October 1988, the public use of the tricolour flag was officially permitted again by the local authorities. On 23 February 1989, the Soviet red flag was taken down permanently from the Pikk Hermann tower of the Toompea Castle in the capital city Tallinn. It was replaced with the blue-black-white flag on the next morning, 24 February, upon the 70th anniversary of the Estonian Declaration of Independence (1918). The national flag was officially re-adopted by the Estonian authorities 7 August 1990, one year before the nation's full restoration of independence.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Riigikantselei-lipp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Riigi Teataja 6 juuli 1922 — DIGAR Eesti artiklid".
  3. ^ "Minevikuminutid: sinimustvalge oli okupatsioonivastane sümbol". ERR (in Estonian). 21 February 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.