In accordance with the Constitution, the Major State Coat of Arms of Ukraine is to be established with the Minor State Coat of Arms of Ukraine and the Coat of Arms of the Cossack Army of Zaporizhia taken into account as its chief elements. The principal element of the Major State Coat of Arms of Ukraine is the trident (the Minor State Emblem), the Symbol of the Princely State of Volodymyr the Great

Article 20, Chapter І of the Constitution of Ukraine

   From the antiquity revered as a magic sign and a kind of charm, the trident symbolized the division of the Universe into the heavenly, earthy, and one beyond; the combination of the divine, motherly and fatherly, the sacred origin and three natural elements–the air, water and earth. Archeologist encountered the image in the numerous cultural artifacts of the past dated by the 1st century, while the first record of the signs belongs to the 10th century A.D.
   While signing a treaty with Byzantium, the ambassadors of the Kyivan Prince Ihor (912 to 945) used the trident in their seals. During the Kyivan Rus, the trident became the symbol of the great princedom with its image found be archeologists in coins, seals, crockery, bricks, as well as wall-paintings. The Kyiv prince Volodymyr Sviatoslavych (980 to 1015) coined money with the image of the Master on one side and trident on the other. In December 1917, the Ukrainian Central Rada adopted trident as a Symbol of the Ukrainian People’s Republic; since January 22, 1919, in accordance with the Decree on Unification it became part of the regional coat of arms of the Western oblast of the UPR. It remained the principal element of the Pavlo Skoropadsky’s Hetman State, as well as that of the Directoria.
   Constitutionally, the all-Ukrainian National Rada first adopted the trident as the State Coat of Arms in May 1920. It also became the State Coat of Arms of the Carpathian Rus in 1939 that declared independence after the Czechoslovak Republic broke up. Officially discredited in Ukraine under the Soviets, the trident, nevertheless, remained the symbol of the national liberation movement. The decreed enactment “On the State Coat of Arms of Ukraine” by the Verkhovna Rada on February 19, 1992, the Trident was approved as the Small State Coat of Arms and principal element of the Great State Coat of Arms.
   
   
   The Composition of the National Anthem dates back to the year of 1862, when young folklorist and ethnographer Pavlo Platonovich Chyubynsky wrote the poem “Ukraine is still alive”. The poem was to become a national hymn and later the State hymn of Ukrainians. It gained the popularity among members of Ukrainian culture circles very quickly. But on October 20th 1862 the gendarme chief Prince Dolgorukov issued an instruction that stipulated Chyubinsky’s exile “for harmful effect on commoners”. He went to Arhangel’sk regions under police convoy.
   The text of poem was considerably influenced with «March Dombrovskogo» — Polish hymn of «Jeszcze Polska nie zginela». By that time it was very popular among people, who struck for independence. On a tune «Marsh Dombrovskogo» Slovak poet Same Tomashek wrote a song «Gay, Slav'yani». Other known version of this song was created by Bulgarian poet Shumi Maritsey and became the hymn of Bulgaria in 1886—1944 years.
   The Chyubinsky’s poem was published first in Lviv magazine "Meta" in 1863, №4.
   The popular poem was noticed by religious leaders of those times. One of them, Father Mykhailo (Verbytsky), known to be a talented composer, wrote music to the poem. It was 1917, when the poem became an anthem with poetry (1862) and music (1865).
   However in 1917-1920 “Sche ne vmerla Ukraina" (“Ukraine is still alive”) was not the only hymn, moreover it was not fully legitimate.
   The poem Ukraine Has Not Died, as the variant for national hymn of Ukraine, was rejected, in the times of Soviet Union, for not to cause the separative moods among Ukrainians.
   The text should reflect that Ukraine is a member of USSR, that it is «equal between equal, free between free» and Communist Party leads Ukraine to the communism.
   This task was fulfilled by Pavlo Tichina. The variant «Live, Ukraine, wonderful and strong» became the national anthem of socialistic Ukraine in a period from 1949 to 1991. Lebedinets Anton Dmitrovich compose a music. But this anthem did not find popularity. The hymn of USSR but not socialistic Ukraine was heard almost on all official meetings.
   On January 15 1992, Verkhovna Rada adopted the music of the State Anthem. But only on March 6 2003 it adopted the law “About the State Anthem”, presented by the President Leonid Kuchma. The bill was to approve the State anthem with music by Mykhailo Verbytsky and poetry by Pavlo Chyubinsky – the first verse and refrain. At the same time the first line goes like the President Kuchma proposed – “Sche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava i volya” (The glory and fame of Ukraine are still alive).
   334 People’s Deputies supported this bill, 46 were contra. Socialists and Communists did not vote.
   The approving of this law accomplished the article 20 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

“The State Flag of Ukraine is a banner of two equally-sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow”

    Article 20, Chapter І of the Constitution of Ukraine
The decree enactment by the Verkhovna Rada “About State Flag of Ukraine”

    The colors symbolized the Kyivan State even before the Rus was baptized. During the times of the Tartar yoke of Baty-khan, this symbolism disappeared to be revived later on in the church ritual decorations and blazonry of Ukrainian towns. The coats of arms of the towns in the Kyiv region and generally throughout Ukraine were framed in the yellow-sky blue colors. Since the 17th century, the regimental and company banners of Cossacks were made of blue cloth with the cross, stars, weapons and images of saints drawn with yellow paint on it.

Flag Day

    On August 23, 2004 the President Leonid Kuchma signed a decree №987/2004 “About the Flag Day”. The celebration of Flag Day on August 23 honours centuries-old history of Ukraine and educates respect to the State Symbols of Ukraine.
   Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, regional, Kiev and Sevastopol city state administrations, according to this decree, should provide the measures for celebrating The Flag Day in Ukraine.