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Soviet Union [USSR] State Symbols
The Constitution specified the state flag and the arms of the
Soviet Union. The flag had a red field, the traditional color of
proletarian revolution. On the flag was a gold hammer and sickle,
which represented the workers and the peasants, respectively, and
the red star, which symbolized Soviet power, bordered in gold to
contrast with the red field. The arms had a hammer and a sickle
superimposed on a globe, with rays of the sun radiating from below,
surrounded by sheaves of wheat. The rays of the sun represented the
dawn of a new world, and the sheaves of wheat symbolized the
economic plenty that was to be created in Soviet society. The
inscription "Proletarians of all countries, unite!"--from Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels's The Communist Manifesto--was written
on a red banner wound around the sheaves of wheat. The arms and
flags of the republics carried the same visual themes, underscoring
the unity of all the republics in the federation.
The Constitution specified that the state anthem be selected
and confirmed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. In 1989 the
anthem was the Anthem of the Soviet Union, which had been
composed under Stalin and contained fulsome praise of the dictator.
After Stalin's death, the Presidium removed the offensive lyrics.
Data as of May 1989
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