White-red-white flag

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White-red-white flag

Historical flag of Belarus Flag of the Belarusian democratic opposition
Use	Civil and state flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1918; 106 years ago (1918)
Design	A horizontal triband of white (top and bottom) and red.
Designed by	Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski

The white-red-white flag (Belarusian: Бел-чырвона-белы сьцяг, romanized: Byel-chyrvona-byely stsyah) is a historical flag used by the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918 before Western Belarus was occupied by the Second Polish Republic and Eastern Belarus was occupied by Soviet Union (two years later becoming the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic). The flag was then used by the Belarusian national movement in Western Belarus followed by widespread unofficial use during the German occupation of Belarus between 1941 and 1944, and again after it regained its independence in 1991 until the 1995 referendum.

Opposition groups have continued to use this flag, though its display in Belarus has been restricted by the government of Belarus under Alexander Lukashenko, which claims it is linked with Nazi collaboration due to its use by Belarusian collaborators during World War II. The white-red-white flag has been used in protests against the government, most recently the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, and by the Belarusian diaspora.