Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 7, 2005



The current national flag of Belarus was formally adopted on June 7, 1995, following the result of a referendum voted on by the Belarusian people in the previous month. This new design replaced a historical flag that Belarus had used before becoming a Soviet Republic, and again after it regained its independence in 1991. The current flag is a modification of the 1951 flag used while the country was a republic of the Soviet Union. The 1995 flag has been the basis of several flags used by government bodies. A few groups have continued to use the previous flag, though its use in Belarus has been restricted by the government of president Alexander Lukashenko. The 1991 flag is still used in protests against the government. Independent observers have said that the referendum that selected the current flag did not meet democratic standards.

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