Editing Flag of the Soviet Union (section)

==Symbolism and design==
The flag of the Soviet Union consisted of a plain red flag with a gold hammer crossed with a gold sickle placed beneath a gold-bordered [[red star]]. This symbol is in the upper left canton of the red flag.

The colour red honours the red flag of the [[Paris Commune]] of 1871; the red star and the hammer and sickle are [[symbols of communism]] and [[Socialism (Marxism)|socialism]].

The hammer symbolises urban [[Manufacturing|industrial]] workers while the sickle symbolises agricultural workers (peasants), who form the state together with the proletarian class. The red star represents the Communist Party, and its position over the hammer and sickle symbolises its leading role in socialist society to unify and enlighten the workers and peasants in the building of a [[communist society]].

The flag's design was legislated in 1955, which gave a clear way to define and create the flag. This resulted in a change of the hammer's handle length and the shape of the sickle.  The adopted statute stated that:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pravo.levonevsky.org/baza/soviet/sssr6212.htm|script-title=ru:Положение о государственном флаге СССР|author=USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium|language=ru|date=19 August 1955|access-date=2008-11-05|author-link=Presidium of the Supreme Soviet}}</ref>
#The ratio of width to length of the flag is 1:2.
#The hammer and sickle are in a square with sides equal to {{frac|4}} of the flag's height. The sharp tip of the sickle lies in the center of the upper side of the square, and the handles of the hammer and sickle rest in the bottom corners of the square. The length of the hammer and its handle is {{frac|3|4}} of the square diagonal.
#The five-pointed star is inscribed into a circle with a diameter of {{frac|8}} of the flag's height, the circle being tangent to the upper side of the square.
#The distance of the vertical axis of the star, hammer and sickle from the hoist is {{frac|3}} of the flag's height. The distance from the upper side of the flag to the center of the star is {{frac|8}} of the flag's height.

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[[File:Construction sheet of the flag of the Soviet Union.png|center|300px|Official Construction Sheet for the State Flag of the USSR (1955–1991).]]
[[File:Flag of the Soviet Union (reverse).svg|thumb|The reverse side of the Soviet flag as it appeared from 1980 to 1991.]]
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{{stack|
[[File:Flag of the Soviet Union (vertical).svg|thumb|150px|The vertical display of the Soviet flag as it appeared from 1980 to 1991.]]
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Officially since 1980, the reverse side of the flag was a plain red field without the hammer and sickle. In practice, however, this was very commonly disregarded by flag makers as it was far easier and less costly to simply print the flag through and through, with the obverse design mirrored on the reverse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://flagspot.net/flags/su'.html|title=Construction details of Soviet flags|website=flagspot.net|access-date=2017-11-18}}</ref> It was also common to see the reverse of the flag bear the hammer and sickle in the obverse formation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://flagspot.net/flags/su.html#rev|title=Reverse of the flag - Soviet Union|website=flagspot.net|access-date=2017-11-18}}</ref> An example of the flag demonstrating its ''de jure'' status as being only one-sided is that of the Soviet flag atop the [[Moscow Kremlin]] which bore the single-side official design.

For vertical display, the flag was made with the distinct difference of having the hammer and sickle rotated 90 degrees in order to compensate for the change in dimensions. Although common in official practice, a typical flag owner would simply turn a standard design flag 90 degrees to the right and hang it by the [[Hoist (flag)|hoist]] (not flipped like in the [[US flag]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flagspot.net/flags/su.html#ver |title=Vertical hoisting – Soviet Union |website=flagspot.net |access-date=2017-12-05}}</ref>