A referendum on state symbols was held in the Republic of Serbia on 31 May 1992. The referendum decided the flag, the national anthem and the coat of arms. [2] Although the referendum failed due to low turnout, the National Assembly recommended that the red star be removed from the Serbian flag on 21 June. [3] [4]
The referendum was planned since 1991. For the state flag, the choice was to either keep the flag with the red star or to remove it. [3] For the coat of arms, the choice was to keep the Serbian shield with cross and firesteels or to include the bicephalic eagle of the Nemanjić dynasty. [3] For the anthem, Bože pravde and Marš na Drinu were offered. [3] The results showed a majority of voters preferred keeping the red star on the flag, to keep the Serbian shield with firesteels, and choosing Marš na Drinu as the anthem. [5]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Shield with cross and four half moons | 1,586,384 | 43.03 |
| Shield with cross and four half moons in front of a white double-headed eagle | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | |
| Total | 3,756,168 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,930,928 | 54.20 |
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Flag with five-pointed star | ||
| Flag without five-pointed star | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | |
| Total | 3,756,168 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,930,928 | 54.20 |
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Marš na Drinu | 1,730,070 | 46.67 |
| Bože pravde | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | – | |
| Total | 3,756,168 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,930,928 | 54.20 |
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||
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|---|
 Serbiaportal |
The flag of Serbia, also known as the Tricolour, is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white on the bottom. The same tricolour, in altering variations, has been used since the 19th century as the flag of the state of Serbia and the Serbian nation. The current form of the flag was adopted in 2004 and slightly redesigned in 2010.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard (chequy) that consists of 13 red and 12 white fields. It is also informally known in Croatian as šahovnica. The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia.
"Bože pravde" is the national anthem of Serbia, as defined by the Article 7 of the Constitution of Serbia. "Bože pravde" was the state anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia until 1919 when Serbia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was re-adopted as the national anthem at first by the parliamentary recommendation on the use in 2004 and then constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia became independent again.
The flag of Montenegro has a red field with gold border and the coat of arms of Montenegro in its center. It was officially adopted on 13 July 2004, when the then Republic of Montenegro was a constituent of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and its precise specification was standardized on 16 September 2004. The flag was retained after Montenegrin independence in 2006, and mandated by Article 4 of the Constitution of Montenegro adopted in 2007.
The coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 1998, replacing the previous design that had been in use since 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina gained independence. It follows the design of the national flag. The three pointed shield is used to symbolize the three major ethnic groups of Bosnia, as well as allude to the shape of the country.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia is the coat of arms determined by the Law on the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Serbia of June 16, 1882. It was officially readopted by the National Assembly in 2004 and later slightly redesigned in 2010. The coat of arms consists of two main heraldic symbols which represent the national identity of the Serbian people across the centuries, the Serbian eagle and the Serbian cross.
The Slovene coat of arms consists of a red bordered blue shield on which there is a stylised white Mount Triglav, under which there are two wavy lines representing the sea and the rivers of the country. Above Mount Triglav, there are three golden six-pointed stars representing the Counts of Celje. It was designed in 1991 by Marko Pogačnik and adopted on 24 June 1991.
A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. It has been widely used in flags, state emblems, monuments, ornaments, and logos.
The Serbian Cross is a national symbol of Serbia, part of the coat of arms and flag of Serbia, and of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is based on the tetragrammic cross emblem/flag of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty, with the difference that in Serbian use the cross is usually white on a red background, rather than gold on a red background.
The coat of arms of Serbia and Montenegro consisted of a shield with the Serbian eagle and the shield with a quartering the Serbian cross and the Montenegrin lion passant. This emblem had served as the national symbol of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
Flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo of 17 February 2008. The flag design emerged from an international competition, organized by the United Nations-backed Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The winning design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo, all on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani.
The Seal of Republika Srpska with the description: the flag of Republika Srpska and the Cyrillic letters "РС" ("RS"), the red-blue-white tricolor are in the center of the seal, twisted with the golden Oak leaves, a traditional pre-Christian symbol sacred to most Slavs. On the edge of the seal there is an inscription Republika Srpska. The open crown of Kotromanić is shown in the bottom of the seal and the seal itself is topped with a heraldic royal crown.
Socialist-style emblems usually follow a unique style consisting of communist symbolism. Although commonly referred to as coats of arms, most are not actually traditional heraldic achievements. Many communist governments purposely diverged from heraldic tradition in order to distance themselves from the monarchies that they usually replaced, with coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs.
Upon the independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union, the country resurrected national symbols that were used before the Soviet era. These included a flag of red and white stripes and a coat of arms consisting of a charging knight on horseback. These national symbols were replaced by Soviet-era symbols in a disputed 1995 vote. Those two symbols, along with the national anthem, are the constitutionally defined national symbols of Belarus.
The flag of Serbia and Montenegro was originally adopted on 27 April 1992 as the flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and was used as such from 1992 to 2006. After the country was renamed to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003 it remained in use as the national flag until the country's dissolution in June 2006.
The national symbols of North Macedonia, as stated in the constitution, are the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem. After the independence of North Macedonia from Yugoslavia, the country made some changes in the national symbols. The flag was changed two times and today's flag includes an eight-ray sun on a red background, while the coat of arms from the Socialist Republic of Macedonia was retained, except the red star which was removed.
The Macedonian lion is an unofficial symbol of North Macedonia. After the independence of the Republic of Macedonia from Yugoslavia, the lion was proposed as a coat of arms of the new independent state several times.
The use of heraldry in Serbia or by Serbs is used by government bodies, subdivisions of the national government, organizations, corporations and by families. Serbian heraldry belongs culturally to the Byzantine tradition.
The emblem of Yugoslavia featured six torches, surrounded by wheat with a red star at its top, and burning together in one flame; this represented the brotherhood and unity of the six federal republics forming Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The date imprinted was 29 November 1943, the day the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) met in Jajce on its second meeting and formed the basis for post-war organisation of the country, establishing a federal republic. This day was celebrated as Republic Day after the establishment of the republic. The emblem of Yugoslavia, along with those of its constituent republics, are an example of socialist heraldry.
Communist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, the peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity.
На референдуму су се гра^ани из- јашн>авали о предлогу нових државних симбола – грба, заставе и химне.
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