Former Warsaw Bloc

Kosovo 1

Kosovo

The flag of Kosovo has a blue background, charged with a map of Kosovo and six stars. The stars are officially meant to symbolize Kosovo’s six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani. Unofficially, the stars are sometimes said to represent the six regions, which according to Albanian ultra nationalist ideology, make up Greater Albania: Albania, Kosovo, western parts of North Macedonia, parts of northern Greece, parts of Montenegro and Preševo Valley in southern Serbia. The flag of Kosovo resembles that of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of colors and shapes used (white stars and yellow shape of the country on a blue field). The flag is unusual among national flags in using a map as a design element; the flag of Cyprus is the only other to do so.

Hungary 2

Hungary

The flag of Hungary is a horizontal tricolor of red, white and green. In this exact form, it has been the official flag of Hungary since 23 May 1957. The flag’s form originates from national republican movements of the 18th and 19th centuries, while its colors are from the Middle Ages. The current Hungarian tricolor flag is the same as the republican movement flag of the United Kingdom (used since 1816) and the colors in that form were already used at least since the coronation of Leopold II in 1790, predating the first use of the Italian Tricolor in 1797.

Flag of Albania on Our Flagpole

Albania

The modern nation state of Albania emerged in 1912 following the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars. The modern Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, a Communist state titled the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania was founded under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour. The country experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the fourth Republic of Albania was established.

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