Once part of Kyivan Rus, Belarus was gradually taken over by Lithuania in the 14th century and became part of the Polish"Lithuanian Grand Duchy. It was to be 400 years before Belarus came under Russian control, a period during which Belarusians became linguistically and culturally differentiated from the Russians to the east and the Ukrainians to the south.

Belarus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which merged with Poland in 1569. Following the partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793, and 1795, in which Poland was divided among Russia, Prussia, and Austria, Belarus became part of the Russian empire.

Much of Belarus (formerly the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR, and then Byelorussia) is a hilly lowland with forests, swamps, and numerous rivers and lakes. There are wide rivers emptying into the Baltic and Black seas. Its forests cover over one-third of the land and its peat marshes are a valuable natural resource. The largest lake is Narach, 31 sq mi (79.6 sq km).

Following World War I, Belarus proclaimed itself a republic, only to find itself occupied by the Red Army soon after its March 1918 announcement. The Polish-Soviet War of 1918-1921 was fought to decide the fate of Belarus. West Belarus was ceded to Poland; the larger eastern part formed the Belorussian SSR and was then joined to the USSR in 1922.

It is a modification of the 1951 flag used while the country was a republic of the Soviet Union. Changes made to the Soviet-era flag were the removal of symbols of communism (the hammer and sickle and the red star) and the reversal of the colors of the ornament pattern, from white on red to red on white. Since the 1995 referendum, several flags used by government officials and agencies were modeled from the national flag.

The State Flag of the Republic of Belarus is a rectangular canvas made of two flat shaded stripes. The upper one is red and makes up 66% of the width while the lower one is green and as extensive as 33% of the banner width. A vertical red-on-white Belarusian national banner as substantial as one-ninth of the banner length is situated close to the flagpole. Flag Company Inc decided to assist with the history development by providing special decals and banners to make it easy to build a bit of history right at home.