Flag of Varkana

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Flag of Varkana
Flag of Varkana.png
Name: Wolf Flag
Use: National flag and civil ensign
Proportions: 2:3
Adopted: April 2004
Design: A black and white wolf on a red background.

The flag of Varkana (Kartvelian: საქართველოს სახელმწიფო დროშა, sakartvelos sakhelmtsipo drosha) features a black and white Varkan wolf on a red background. The flag is also called the Wolf Flag (Kartvelian: მგელი დროშა, mgeli drosha) and was adopted in April 2004.

History[edit | edit source]

Kingdom[edit | edit source]

First Republic[edit | edit source]

Flag of the First Republic of Varkana

The first flag of the Republic of Varkana was a tricolour flag. The horizontal fesses are bands of equal size in the colors, from top to bottom, green, white, and blue. The flag proportions (width:length) are 2:3. It was the flag used by nationalists during the independence era. The Varkan association with the colors black, green and blue surfaced in the radical 1750s, when the green-white-blue flag was used to symbolize the movement against Aetolian imperialism. The green alludes to the country's natural resources – specifically agriculture and its mountains – while the white epitomizes "unity and justice". The blue evokes the "natural harbor" of Klow, the capital city of Varkana.

Currently, it is used by contemporary Democratic Movement supporters as a symbol of their movement and ideal. It symbolizes conservative Varkan values, especially regarding Armazism and democratic republicanism.

Second Republic[edit | edit source]

Flag of the Socialist Republic of Varkana

The flag adopted during the Second Republic involves a red background with two white stripes and a slightly larger blue stripe in the middle. A yellow hammer and sickle communist symbol, as well as the red five-pointed star, lie in the canton (upper corner nearest the flagpole) of the flag.

The blue alludes to the NAME SEA, which is the nation's key feature. The red evokes socialism, while the thin white stripes represents "unity and peace". The red star and hammer and sickle are themselves symbols of communism and socialism. The hammer symbolizes urban industrial workers while the sickle symbolizes agricultural workers (peasants) — who together, as the Proletarian class, form the state.

The red star represents the Communist Party, and its position over hammer and sickle symbolizes its leading role in socialist society to unify and enlighten the workers and peasants in the building of communism.

Third Republic[edit | edit source]

Flag of the Third Republic of Varkana

Keeping the design of the Second Republic flag, the flag of the Third Republic was however quite different. Now with a darker red upper stripe, this color is said to represent the communist past. The blue still represents the NAME SEA, and the white stripes "unity and peace". The bottom yellow stripe represents liberalism, Varkana's openness to the rest of Adonia.

The hammer and sickle, as well as the red star, were all removed from the flag. Often considered as a flag of progress, establishing a modern-day Varkana as the Third Republic, it is now used mainly by Social Democrats to promote their movement and reformist ideas.

Although they do not necessarily want to return to the Third Republic constitution, while a few party factions desire so, they want the return of certain values represented in the Third Republic, notably social democracy and a fully democratic system.

Fourth Republic[edit | edit source]

Flag of the Fourth Republic of Varkana

The flag of the Fourth Republic of Varkana, the current national flag, consists of a black and white wolf on a red background. The flag incorporates the Varkan Wolf, along with the red color of communalism. The flag created controversy after its adoption by the Parliament, as it didn't follow any continuity from the previous striped flags.

It was inaugurated on 5 March 2005 at an official ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, in the presence of President Zurab Avalishvili, members of the Council of Ten, and Varkan parliamentarians. The Third Republic flag was lowered at the stroke of noon and the new wolf flag was raised. The crowd sang "Freedom" followed by wolf howls to express their support. Of the flag, Avalishvili said "[it] will symbolize to each of us — and to the world — the unity of purpose and high resolve to which destiny beckons us."