In 1918, the Belarusian People's Republic (BNR) was proclaimed, the symbols of which became the coat of arms "Pahonia" and the white-red-white flag. On 11 August, the newspaper Svobodnaya Belarus published the first official description of the flag and coat of arms. In 1919–1920, the white-red-white flag was used by Belarusian military formations as part of the armies of Poland and Lithuania. In 1920, the flag was used by participants in the Slutsk uprising.