Chuvashia became an Autonomous Oblast on 24 June 1920 and an
ASSR on 21 April 1925. With the break-up of the Soviet Union it
became one of the fifteen autonomous republics within Russia.
The flags of the communist period were mainly boring: from 1931
to 1937 red with hammer and sickle, "ChASSR", and the Chuvash
for "proletarian s of the world, unite!" in gold ("PÊTÊM
TÊNChÊRI PROLETTARISEM, PÊRLEShÊR!"); from 1937 to 1954 red with
"RSFSR" and the "Chuvash ASSR" in Chuvash and Russian in gold;
and after 1954 the hammer and sickle, "Chuvash ASSR", and a blue
stripe at the hoist. But the 1927-1931 flag had the ChASSR and
hammer and sickle on a very large white canton surrounded by an
ornate border of geometrical ornament in red, white, gold, blue,
and green. The post-USSR flag adopted on 29 April 1992 has a
yellow background with a red base, and a red stylized tree of
life symbol under three suns (eight-pointed stars). This is a
traditional element for the local people. Curiously,
descriptions of the flag make t