The current flag of Ajaria was adopted on 20th of July in 2004. It shows seven horizontal blue and white stripes and the flag of Georgia in the upper corner. Nothing is known about the meaning of the colors. The Adjarians are ethnic Georgians, but profess Islam. The republic was once created for them, but today they are a minority. After all, the area was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1878 and then came to Russia until 1918. After Turkey wanted to take over again after the collapse of the Tsarist empire, the country was occupied by a British protection forces from 1918 to 1920. After the withdrawal of the British, the country came under the control of the Russian Lenin putschists, who, pretending to be tolerant on national and religious ideas, founded the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ajaria in 1921 as part of Soviet Georgia. This marked the beginning of the long era of the red flags of communism. The first example, in use until 1937, was the same flag as it was used in Soviet Georgia, with the initials of Soviet Georgia in the upper corner. From 1937 to 1951, the flag showed in the upper canton in golden Georgian letters the name of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and, below it, of the Ajarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, sometimes supplemented by the country names in Russian. On April 11th in 1951, a new flag was introduced for Georgia. Although it was monochrome red, it was designed quite unusually for Soviet standards, because in the upper corner it showed a blue sun, in the middle of it the hammer, sickle and star were placed in red. Furthermore, a horizontal blue stripe ran within the upper half of the flag, which should symbolize the cloudless and blue sky of Georgia. This flag was also adopted for Adjara (the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) and was maintained until 1981. Between 1981 and 1991 the initials of the republic appeared in golden Georgian letters below the blue sun in the upper corner. After the end of Soviet power, the bourgeois flag was reintroduced in Georgia, as it was in use from 1918 to 1921. Ajaria remained an Autonomous Republic within Georgia, but had to use its flag until 2000, when a single-colored blue national flag was introduced, showing seven golden stars in the upper corner. It resembled the flag of the Union for Democratic Rebirth Party, which had to give up power in 2004. The autonomy rights of Ajaria were restricted by Georgia and the current flag was introduced during that process.
The country has its name from the Adjarians who live here. The Adjarians are ethnic Georgians, but profess Islam. The republic was once created for them, but today they are a minority.
