Flag of Moldova

Moldova

Use	National flag and ensign (Obverse shown)
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	November 6, 1990
Design	A vertical tricolor of blue, yellow and red; charged with the Coat of Arms centered on the yellow band.
Variant flag of Moldova
Use	War flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	March 28, 1991 (?)
Design	A blue cloth, bearing a red cross within a larger yellow cross. On the front of the cloth, in the center, lies the Emblem of the National Army. The reverse of the flag has the chromatic layout and features in the center the army motto in golden letters: Romanian: "Pentru Onoare! Pentru Patrie! Pentru Tricolor!" (For Honor! For Country! For the Tricolor!)

The state flag of Moldova is a vertical tricolor of blue, yellow, and red, charged with the coat of arms of Moldova (an eagle holding a shield charged with an aurochs) on the center bar. The obverse is mirrored. The flag ratio is 1:2. Until further provisions, the State Flag of Moldova is used as the national flag and ensign as well, that is, civil, state and war flag and ensign.

The blue, red, and yellow tricolor of Moldova is almost identical to the flag of Romania, reflecting the two countries' national and cultural affinity. On Moldova's flag the yellow stripe is charged with the national arms. Like the Romanian coat of arms, the Moldovan arms, adopted in 1990, features a dark golden eagle holding an Orthodox Christian cross in its beak. Instead of a sword, the eagle is holding an olive branch, symbolizing peace. The blue and red shield on the eagle's chest is charged with the traditional symbols of Moldova: an aurochs' head, flanked by a rose in dexter and a crescent in sinister, and having a star between its horns, all of gold. These two national flags are also very similar to the flags of Chad and Andorra, which are all based on vertical stripes of blue, yellow, and red.

1:2 Obverse

1:2 Reverse

Construction sheet

Until 2010, the color shades of the Moldavian flag were not explicitly named. The Regulation regarding the flag stated that the colors of the flag must match the ones shown in the annex. Moldavian heraldist and vexillologist Silviu Andrieș-Tabac stated in an interview that in 1990, when the flag was being created, "it was taken into account that many countries have similar tricolor flags. As a result, it was decided to abandon the ultramarine blue, which is present on the Romanian flag, in favor of the emerald-blue, used on the mural paintings of Voroneț monastery...".