Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, thousands of images showing Russian soldiers and vehicles have emerged online. Some of these images shocked viewers when they saw the flag of the Soviet Union waving on some Russian military equipment. For residents of Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Union, the flag may represent “an expression of a desire to repress them”, according to a post-Soviet politics specialist who spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers team.
A red flag emblazoned with a gold hammer and sickle in the top left – the symbol of the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during its existence from 1922 to 1991. The Soviet union spanned Eurasia, made up of republics including current-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as well as other Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
