Flag Day in Uzbekistan Date in the current year: November 18, 2024

When Central Asia was conquered by the Russian Empire in the 19th century, there were three Uzbek states in the territory of present-day Uzbekistan: the Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Kokand, and the Khanate of Khiva. Each of them had its own flag that had little in common with the other two or with the modern flag of Uzbekistan, except for the crescent typical for Islamic flags.

After the October Revolution, the Emirate of Bukhara was transformed into the Bukhara SSR Republic, the Khanate of Khiva into the Khorezm SSR, and the Khanate of Kokand into the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Again, each of them had its own flag; this time, the flags were similar because they were based on the revolutionary red flag.

In 1925, the three republics were liquidated, and their territory was divided between the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR. The first flag of the Uzbek SSR was a red rectangle with a golden inscription saying “UzSSR” in Uzbek and in Russian in the top left corner. The design was revised several times after that. The final version, adopted in 1952, was a red cloth with a horizontal blue stripe with thin white borders in the middle. In the top left corner, there were the golden hammer and sickle and a five-pointed star.

In 1991, Uzbekistan declared independence from the collapsing Soviet Union. One of the tasks facing the new government was the creation of a national flag, since Uzbekistan didn’t have a “historical” flag. A contest was held to determine the new design, and the winner was chosen by a special commission from more than 200 submissions.

The winning design incorporated elements inspired by the flags of various Uzbek states. For example, the azure color is widely used by Turkic peoples for heraldic purposes; an azure crescent was present on the flag of the Khanate of Khivia.

The national flag of Uzbekistan consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, separated by two narrow red stripes. The azure band symbolizes clear water and blue sky, the white band stands for peace and purity, and the green band is a symbol of Uzbekistan’s rich and diverse nature. Finally, the red stripe stand for courage and life.

In the top left corner of the flag, there are a crescent moon and twelve five-pointed stars. The crescent, as we’ve already mentioned above, is a popular Islamic symbol, and the stars have many meanings: twelve zodiac signs, twelve months of the year, the age of maturity for boys in Islam, and more.

The national flag of Uzbekistan was adopted on November 18, 1991, making Uzbekistan the first newly independent republic in Central Asia to replace the old Soviet flag with a new one. Turkmenistan followed suit on February 19, 1992, Kyrgyzstan on March 3, 1992, Tajikistan on November 24, 1992, and Kazakhstan on June 4, 1992.

Flag Day in Uzbekistan is marked by flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies at national monuments. It is not a non-working day unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday.