Sized 73" x 36" excluding the fringe but including the 3-inch flagpole sleeve. In double-layered thick silk with the emblem of the Lithuanian SSR painted on one side and a dual Stalin-Lenin portrait on the other under the ever-present communist motto of world domination, "Proletarians of all countries, unite!" The fringe is of rich gold color, not just bright yellow as in later Soviet flags.

The "after-market" loop sown into the top corner opposite the flagpole suggests that the flag was used as a presentation banner stretched against a backing, but then one side of it had to be hidden from view. Which side would you "sacrifice" - the emblem or Lenin-Stalin? Well, most likely, the portraits had to face the wall after Khrushchev came to power and launched his de-Stalinization campaign.

Come to think of it, that was probably the main reason this flag survived at all. As rare as Stalin's image on a flag has been after de-Stalinization, it is doubly rare to see it on the flag of a Baltic republic, and even more so on a Lithuanian flag. To put it very mildly, there was no love lost between Stalin and Lithuanians.

Quite an oddity, this one! And in very good to excellent condition. The fabric is very clean, showing just a couple of faint areas of soiling, barely noticeable, a couple of catches to the silk, and a tiny repair, done with black thread for some reason. We put a quarter coin next to it in our photo, for size reference.

The artwork shows minor paint loss. In the case of the Stalin-Lenin portrait, the red of the silk showing through the silver paint of the portrait looks like blood veins on a vampire's head. Oddly, only Lenin is looking ahead into the bright communist future. Stalin, on the other hand, is looking to the right and seems to be rather suspicious of what he sees.

All the wear is negligible. The paint loss adds a sense of age and authenticity, not a detriment in our view. The bottom of the flagpole sleeve shows some damage which was hastily stitched together. It appears that, with due care and sowing skill, a better job can be done on this spot, if desired. The fringe is all intact and has retained its rich gold luster.

Please note that the yardstick in our photo is for size reference.