flag of Moldova

Moldova declared independence during World War I. At various times in prior centuries it had been a part of Moldavia, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Romania, and its symbols are derived from historical and cultural links with Moldavia and Romania. Its flag of December 1917 was the traditional Romanian tricolour of blue, yellow, and red in horizontal format. In the centre was the head of an aurochs, an extinct European ox. This flag flew only briefly because Moldova was incorporated into Romania in April 1918. The Soviet Union acquired Moldova in 1940, and, after German and Romanian occupation through 1944, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was reestablished. Its distinctive flag, adopted in 1952, added a green horizontal stripe through the centre of the Soviet Red Banner. Green was said to stand for the viticulture and other agricultural activities of the area.

By 1989 agitation against communist rule was strong in Moldova, and the blue-yellow-red Romanian tricolour became a popular symbol. It officially replaced the communist flag in May 1990. The new coat of arms of Moldova, based on traditional designs, was added on November 3 of that year: On the breast of an eagle is a shield with an aurochs’s head surrounded by a crescent, star, and flower. A traditional emblem of the Romanian territory of Walachia, the eagle holds a sceptre and olive branch in its talons and a cross in its beak. The red, blue, and gold colours of the shield reflect the national tricolour. The flag remained official following the independence of Moldova in 1991.