Kyrgyzstan changes flag design due to association with sunflower

Kyrgyzstan is in the process of changing the design of its national flag after the country’s parliament voted in favor of the initiative. It is noted that the central element of the current design is associated with a sunflower, which in local culture is considered a symbol of spinelessness and servility.

President Sadyr Zhaparov also expressed his support for the decision. This decision is a step towards recognizing and taking into account national values and cultural characteristics, contributing to the formation of a new image of the state.

The flag of Kyrgyzstan was approved in 1992 after the country gained independence from the Soviet Union. It depicts a yellow sun with 40 rays on a red background. It also symbolizes the top of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt tent.

However, the wavy rays attracted the attention of some MPs in September. The officials noticed that they looked more like sunflower petals. This plant has a special meaning in Kyrgyz culture – it symbolizes a traitorous and slave-like person.

Such ideas can be seen as particularly harmful in a country whose relatively small economy is heavily dependent on its larger partners. More than a million Kyrgyz out of a population of less than seven million work abroad.

“There is a widespread belief in our society that our flag looks like a sunflower, and this is one of the reasons why the country cannot get off its knees,” President Zhaparov said last month, commenting on the initiative.

The law passed by Kyrgyzstan’s parliament changes the design of the flag to make the sun’s rays direct. It is expected that this is what the future national flag will look like.

Tags: sunflower, Кыргызстан