 | |
| Other names | Gagauz Yerin bayraa, Sky Flag |
|---|---|
| Use | State flag |
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | October 31, 1995 |
 | |
| Use | Civil flag |
 | |
| Use | Ethnic flag |
The flag of Gagauzia (Gagauz: Gagauz Yerin bayraa, Romanian: Steagul Găgăuziei, Russian: Флаг Гагаузии) has served as an official symbol of the Gagauz Territorial Unit since 1995, and is recognized as a regional symbol by Moldova. Popularly known as the "Sky Flag", it is a triband of blue-white-red, with a wider blue stripe, charged with three yellow stars arranged in triangular pattern. The overall symbolism is debated, but the stars may represent the three Gagauz municipalities within Moldova. The tricolor is reminiscent of the Russian flag, which is also popular in Gagauzia; the issue has created friction between Gagauz and Moldovan politicians.
Before their mass migration into Bessarabia and the Budjak, Gagauz people were associated with several polities—including the Despotate of Dobruja—which, according to Gagauz tradition, had a rooster flag. The emergence of Gagauz nationalism dates back to the 1860s, when the Gagauz and the Bessarabian Bulgarians rejected both Tsarist autocracy and Romanian nationalism. A Gagauz quasi-state, the "Comrat Republic", was formed during the Russian Revolution of 1905, but its leaders only used the generic red flag, publicizing their loyalty toward the All-Russian Peasant Union. Separate symbols for the Gagauz and their territory are comparatively new, first emerging as marks of the resistance to Russification in the Soviet Union. Several ethnic and semi-official flags were recorded for Gagauz separatists during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, generally featuring the grey wolf (Turkish: bozkurt).
The self-proclaimed Gagauz Republic adopted wolf symbolism in various forms; the device was featured on its official flag, which reportedly existed in only one copy. Despite their initial popularity, grey-wolf flags were tainted by controversy, being read as references to Pan-Turkism and the eponymous far-right group. They fell out of use in 2000–2010, but reemerged as popular in the following decade. In 2017, Governor Irina Vlah proposed the introduction of a flag bearing the wolf's head in red as a "historical flag" with official status. If adopted, this resolution would not replace the "Sky Flag".