Flag of Ossetia

The Flag of Ossetia is a tricolor flag, top to bottom white, red, and yellow, used by the Ossetian people in Ossetia, a region spanning both sides of the Caucasus Mountains.

The flag is used by three distinct political entities: The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania (a federal subject of Russia), the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia – State of Alania, and the Georgia-established Administration of South Ossetia.

South Ossetia has been under the control of the Russian Federation since the 2008 Russo-Georgian war and is mostly unrecognized by the international community. Georgia considers the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia to be the legal government of South Ossetia.

North Ossetia
Under the Soviet Union, the North Ossetian ASSR changed flags several times. The present flag was adopted on 2 October 1991 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and then reinstated on 24 November 1994.

South Ossetia
Between 1922 and 1990, South Ossetia was an autonomous oblast of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic known as the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. As an autonomous oblast, it did not have its own flag, instead the Flag of Georgian SSR was used for official purposes. The flag of the Republic of South Ossetia – State of Alania was prescribed by the South Ossetian Constitution of 26 November 1990 and confirmed by the Regulation on the National Flag of 30 March 1992. Unlike North Ossetia, South Ossetia did not use the variant with the violet stripe from 1991 to 1994, instead continuously using the variant with the red stripe.
 * South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
 * Republic of South Ossetia – State of Alania

The Republic of South Ossetia – State of Alania maintains a Presidential standard for use by the President of South Ossetia when serving in an official capacity as the head of state. Although the flag is often the coat of arms centered on the flag, there is no codified presidential standard, and as such several variants have been used.

The Administration of South Ossetia was established by the Government of Georgia in April 2007. It uses the Ossetian flag together with the flag of Georgia.
 * Administration of South Ossetia

Symbolism
The flag is said to represent the social structure of ancient Ossetian society, which was divided into three social groups forming an organic whole: the military aristocracy, the clergy, and ordinary people. The colors symbolize moral purity (white), martial courage (red) and wealth and prosperity (yellow). In blazons, the flag is described as Per fess Argent and Or, a fess Gules. The proportions are 1:2.