Let's change Belarus flags on the web initiative
Below is the link to download a pack of Belarus white-red-white (white with a red stripe) flags in different formats and shapes:
Please share the pack with people who might need the new flags of Belarus. Use hashtag #ChangeBelarusFlag
We (livingcost.org team) have created all the images in the pack and now distributing them under the CC0 license (no rights reserved, free to use for any purposes, no attribution required).
- Rectangular, square, round.
- White, light-grey versions (for white backgrounds), 3d effect.
- SVG, PNG, JPG.
Why do we want to change Belarus flags on the web
We want to support the protest spirit of the Belarussian movement against Lukashenko's tyranny and violence by starting the "Change Belarus Flag" initiative - let's change the old red-green flags and icons we use in our projects' taxonomies to the new white-red-white flags.
Near KGB building, Photo source: tut.by 16.08.2020
Of the five elections won by Lukashenko, only the first, which was 26 years ago, was credibly deemed free and fair by international monitors.
The last election day, on 9 August 2020, all roads and entry points to Minsk were blocked by the police and army early in the morning.
In the middle of the election day, the Internet in the whole 9.4 million people country was blocked for 3 days.
Thousands of peaceful protesters met with violence from well-equipped police and military forces, brutal arrests, tortures in prisons.
Links to read about the situation in Belarus:
- What’s behind the Belarus protests? - The Washington Post
- 2020 Belarusian protests - Wikipedia
- Activists record 'torture victims' screams' from Belarus prison - Daily Mail
- 16 august 2020 - the biggest protest in Belarus history - The Guardian
What is the history behind 2 flags
The white-red-white design was used by the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918, before Belarus became a Soviet Republic, and again after it regained its independence in 1991 until the 1995.
The red-green flag is a modification of the 1951 flag used while the country was a republic of the Soviet Union. Changes made to the Soviet-era flag by Lukashenko in 1995 were the removal of symbols of communism (such as the hammer and sickle and the red star) and the reversal of the colors of the ornament pattern, from white-on-red to red-on-white.
After 1995 the white-red-white flag is used as a symbol of the opposition to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, most notably at the protests after the 2006, 2010 and august 2020 presidential elections. The flag is not officially banned from public usage, but is treated by the authorities as an unregistered symbol which means that demonstration of it by political activists or sports fans can lead to arrests and confiscation of the flags.
We've already changed all Belarus flags and icons in our projects. You can find an example of the new flag on the best places to live in Belarus and cost of living in Belarus pages.