Flag of Belarus - Proper Flag Protocol

Proper Flag Protocol

By law, the Belarusian flag is supposed to be flown daily, weather permitting, from the following locations:

• National Assembly of Belarus
• Council of Ministers of Belarus
• Courts of Belarus, and offices of local executive and administrative bodies
• Above buildings in which sessions of local Councils of deputies are carried out
• Military bases or military ships owned by the government
• Buildings used by Belarusian diplomats

The Belarusian flag is also officially flown on these occasions:

• Sessions of local executive and administrative bodies
• Voting/polling places
• Sports arenas during competitions (note that the IOC has its own rules on flag display)

The flag is also displayed on vehicles used by Belarusian diplomats and various government officials (such as the President and the Prime Minister). The law allows for the flag to be used for special occasions, such as memorial services, and family holidays, and it can be used by various groups of people, such as public organizations, companies, and NGOs. The regulations were issued in the same decree that created the Belarusian flag. May 15 has been declared the Day of the National Emblem and Flag of Belarus (День Государственного герба и Государственного флага Республики Беларусь). The national flag itself has been incorporated into the badge of the guard units in the Belarusian armed forces. The relation of the width of the state flag to the length of the pole that it is used is at minimum 1 to 3.

In the 1995 presidential decree, the national flag is supposed to be used on a staff that is colored gold (ochre). In other parts of the protocol, the finial (metal ornament on a flag pole) is going to be diamond shaped and colored in a yellow metal. In this diamond, there is a five-pointed star (similar to that used in national emblem). The diamond-pattern was another carry-over of Soviet flag traditions.