Traffic signs in post-Soviet states explained

The road signs in the post-Soviet states Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are largely similar to the Soviet road sign system, as these countries were part of the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. However, in some countries of the former USSR, some road signs may look different from the Soviet ones. The Soviet Union was a signatory to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.^[1] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, most of the post-Soviet states adopted their own road sign standards. Many of them use road sign systems that inherited the road sign system used in the Soviet Union before 1991, but with some modifications, except for Estonia and Latvia that use completely different road sign systems. Estonia and Latvia have their own road sign systems, which are very different in design from the Soviet one. Modern road signs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan comply with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals as well as most European countries. Of the 15 former post-Soviet states, only Belarus, Russia and Ukraine have signed and ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on behalf of the Soviet socialist republics. These 3 countries have ratified this convention on June 18, 1974.^[2]

The standard for road signs,, was initially adopted in the Soviet Union on January 1, 1980, and remained in effect in several years in Russia and some post-Soviet states after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.^{[3] [4]} However, since January 1, 2006, this standard has become invalid in Russia and has been replaced by .^{[5] [6] [7]} The font outlined in such laws is currently in digitization in Github and is in use in all former Soviet countries with the exceptions of Azerbaijan, Estonia (both using Arial), Latvia (using DIN 1451) and recently Ukraine (using a new font called Road UA). Again except for Ukraine, all cities destinations in former Soviet states are written with all-uppercase letters.

Also, a similar road sign system is used in Mongolia, despite the fact that it was never part of the Soviet Union. Road signs in Mongolia are regulated in the MNS 4597:2014 standard.^{[8] [9]}

All post-Soviet states drive on the right, as in the rest of Europe (except for Cyprus, Ireland, Malta, and the United Kingdom). Each of these countries also use metric system; thus speed limits are in kilometres per hour, and distances are in kilometres or metres.

Road signs in each of the 15 post-Soviet states are regulated by the following documents:

Road sign standards in post-Soviet states!Country!Document

	^[10]
	^[11]
	(in Russian) / (in Belarusian)^[12]
	^[13]
	^[14]
	(in Russian) / (in Kazakh),^[15] (in Russian) / (in Kazakh)^[16] ^[17]
	(in Russian) / (in Kyrgyz),^[18]
	,, ^[19]
	^[20]
	^[21]
	,^[22] ^[23]
	^[24] ^[25]
	^[26]
	^[27]
	^[28]

Overview

There may be variations in the post-Soviet states' road signs despite the fact that many of them adopted the road sign system used in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in 1991. The main differences between traffic signs in post-Soviet states relate to:

• Graphic design details
• Local regulatory significance
• The colour-coding of directional signs
• Local language texts (in most post-Soviet states traffic signs can be bilingual or sometimes trilingual). In most post-Soviet states, the names of settlements and geographical objects can be written both in the country's official language and in English or in Latin script, mostly in countries that use non-Latin scripts in their official languages. Previously, the Soviet Union used primarily Russian on road signs, as well as the languages of the republics that were part of the USSR before they get an independence from the Soviet Union between 1990 and 1991. Below there are differences between local language texts in today's post-Soviet states:
  • Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine (including territories occupied by Russia since 2014 during the Russo-Ukrainian war and its subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022, and Crimea annexed by Russia) mostly use Cyrillic script on road signs. Armenia and Georgia use Armenian and Georgian scripts on road signs respectively. Cyrillic script is also used on road signs in territories of post-Soviet states occupied by Russia: the unrecognised Transnistria (a result of the Transnistria War in 1990-1992), partially recognised Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic (a result of the War in Donbas in 2014-2022), Abkhazia and South Ossetia (a result of the wars in Abkhazia in 1992-1993 and 1998, the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War and the 2008 Russo-Georgian War).
    • Road signs in Abkhazia are trilingual: Abkhaz, Russian and English.^[29]
  • Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan mainly or solely use Latin script on road signs since their official languages use Latin script. Azerbaijan, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which previously used Cyrillic script in their official languages, switched to Latin script in the 1990s after the collapse of the USSR. Recently, in Kazakhstan, as part of its possible shift to the Latin alphabet in Kazakh, the Latin script on road signs is actively used.

Typefaces

• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan use typefaces based on one specified in a Soviet standard ГОСТ 10807–78. For example, in Belarus, the applicable standard is СТБ 1140–99; in Ukraine, it is ДСТУ 4100–2002; In Russia, it is ГОСТ Р 52290–2004; and in Kazakhstan, it is СТ РК 1125–2002.
  • Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan may use the Arial Bold typeface in road signs instead of one specified in a Soviet standard ГОСТ 10807–78, especially in numerals on speed limit road signs, directional, and informatory signs. Also, the Helvetica typeface is sometimes used in road signs.
    • In Kazakhstan, the Helvetica typeface is sometimes used in directional road signs instead of Arial Bold.
  • Georgia uses the BalavMtavr and Arial Black typefaces on road signs.^[30]
  • Ukraine has recently started using the Road UA typeface, as part of a signage redesign.^[31]
  • Turkmenistan may also use the FHWA typeface as well as on road signs in Turkey since road signs in Turkmenistan may sometimes copy the Turkish road sign system.
• Estonia uses the Arial Narrow Bold typeface.^[32]
• Latvia uses the DIN 1451 typeface.^[33]

In all post-Soviet states, destinations on direction signs are written in capital letters, except for Ukraine's new road sign system, adopted in 2021.

Signs

Warning signs

In general, warning signs in post-Soviet states have a triangular shape with a red border and a white background, as in most European countries.

• Latvia uses warning signs with a thicker red triangle.
• Lithuania does not use the Tramway and Tram stop road sign due to the absence of tramways in its territory.

Road works and construction

• Road works and construction warning signs have a triangular shape with a red border and a white, amber, or yellow background. The Soviet Union formerly only used a white background on road works and construction warning signs. Today, only Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, and Lithuania still use a white background on these warning signs, while Belarus, Estonia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan only use an amber background, and Moldova uses a yellow background, like most temporary warning signs.

Priority signs

• Armenia use both ԿԱՆԳ kang and STOP text in stop signs while most other post-Soviet states only use STOP text in stop signs regardless of the country's official language .
• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan use End of priority road sign with 5 thin black diagonal lines .
• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, use Priority road and End of priority road signs with a rounded bright orange square and outlines with rounded corners.
• Estonia uses Priority road and End of priority road signs with a light yellow right-angle square and a right-angle square outline .
• Moldova and Ukraine use Priority road and End of priority road signs with a light rounded yellow square and outlines with rounded corners.
• Latvia uses a Give way sign with a thick red triangle, End of priority road sign with three thick black diagonal lines and light yellow square with right angles on it .
• Almost all post-Soviet states, except for Latvia and Georgia, use a long black arrow down and a short red arrow up on Give way to oncoming traffic signs, long white arrow up and a red short arrow down on Priority over oncoming traffic signs . Latvia has a different look on Give way to oncoming traffic and Priority over oncoming traffic signs so these signs look closer to the rest of Europe. Georgia uses the similar tactic as Latvia on the Give way to oncoming traffic and the Priority over oncoming traffic signs .

Prohibitory signs

Most prohibitory signs use a red circle or a red circle with a slash, as in the rest of Europe.

• Latvia uses prohibitory signs with a thick red circle.

Mandatory signs

• Road signs Turn right and Turn left use a 90-degree arrow or a straight arrow to the right and left, respectively. The Soviet Union formerly used a straight arrow to the right and left for Turn right and Turn left signs, respectively. Today, most post-Soviet states, with the exception of Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Turkmenistan only use the 90-degree arrow for Turn Right and Turn Left signs. However, the straight-arrow variant of these road signs may still be used in most post-Soviet states. In accordance with ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 in Russia and post-Soviet states, images of the signs Turn right and Turn left have been changed since 2006.^{[34] [35]} In Ukraine, since April 2013, images of Turn right and Turn left signs have been modified by replacing straight arrows with 90-degree ones.^[36]
  • Estonia and Latvia use both straight and 90-degree arrows for Turn Right and Turn Left signs.
  • Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Turkmenistan continue to use the straight arrow for Turn Right and Turn Left signs, as they did during the Soviet era.

Special regulations signs

• In all post-Soviet states, a rectangular road sign with a long white arrow pointing right or left on a blue background designates the exit to a one-way road on road junctions. The arrow on the sign shows the direction of one-way traffic and prohibits movement opposite to the direction of the arrow. Unlike most European countries, rectangular one-way road signs are only placed in front of intersections. At T-junctions, these signs are installed at the exit from a secondary road to the main one-way road, most often in conjunction with a Give way traffic sign or sometimes with a Stop sign, whereas other European countries use Turn right (and/or) or Turn left (and/or) signs at these T-junctions. Additionally, this rectangular road sign can be installed at the X-junctions with a one-way road in conjunction with the Priority road or Give way sign. In the rest of Europe, road signs Go straight or turn right, Go straight or turn left or No left turn, No right turn are often installed in front of X-junctions with one-way roads.
  • Moldova uses a different version of a rectangular one-way road sign with the SENS UNIC text in black inside the arrow, likewise in Romania, but it has a smaller SENS UNIC text compared to the Romanian one.
• In post-Soviet states, the sign indicating the end of a one-way road has a crossed-out up arrow inside the square . However, Lithuania uses a different sign to mark the end of a one-way road, and is only used if a one-way road meets a two-way road at an intersection. The Lithuanian sign has an up arrow on the right and a down arrow on the left . Signs marking the end of a one-way road are not found anywhere else in Europe and Asia in this form.
• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine use a green background on the Motorway sign. Lithuania formerly used only green background on the Motorway sign; now it uses both green and blue background on the Motorway sign, which makes it the only post-Soviet state to use both green and blue background on the highway sign and at the same time one of the few countries in Europe to use these two background colors on this sign.
  • Estonia uses a blue background on the Motorway sign as other European countries do, but no roads fall under motorway regulations and it is not used.
  • Latvia does not use the Motorway road sign due to the absence of motorways in its territory.
  • It was already that:
  • Lithuania does not use the Tramway and Tram stop road sign due to the absence of tramways in its territory.
• Most post-Soviet states use the red cross on Hospital and First aid road signs, while Belarus uses the green cross instead, and Tajikistan uses the red crescent as well as in other Muslim countries. From 2002 to 2021, Ukraine formerly used a white cross inside a green square on these medicine-related road signs.^{[37] [38]}

Indication signs

• Kilometer signs are used to indicate the distance from the place of its installation to the start or end point of the road and are set after 1 km. Such signs usually have from one to four digits. A maximum of 4 digits on kilometer signs are used on highways in Russia and Central Asian countries, whose length exceeds 1000 kilometers, due to the huge area of these countries. In the Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, a maximum of 3 digits are used on kilometer signs.

Color differences

This table below shows the differences in color shades on road signs in post-Soviet states. Some of the post-Soviet states may have different shades of red, blue, green and yellow or amber colors on road signs. The table below lists the hexadecimal codes for the various color shades used on road signs in post-Soviet states. Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine use simillar colors.

	Armenia	Azerbaijan	Belarus	Estonia	Georgia	Kazakhstan	Kyrgyzstan	Latvia	Lithuania	Moldova	Russia	Tajikistan	Turkmenistan	Ukraine	Uzbekistan
Red	ff0000	ff0000	ff0000	f02b30	ff0000	ff0000	ff0000	ed1a3a	ff0000	ed1c24	ff0000	ff0000	ff0000	da251d	ff0000
Blue	0d69e1	0d69e1	0d69e1	00a7d1	0d69e1	0d69e1	0d69e1	283996	0d69e1	0000fe	0d69e1	0d69e1	0d69e1	005da2	0d69e1
Yellow or orange	ffcc00	ffcc00	ffcc00	ffde22	ffcc00	ffcc00	ffcc00	fedd2e	ffcc00	ffff00	ffcc00	ffcc00	ffcc00	fff200	ffcc00
Green	00a500	00a500	00a500	57ac1b	00a500	00a500	00a500	00a650	00a500	007c02	00a500	00a500	00a500	04ae67	00a500

Table of traffic signs comparison

Priority

See also: Priority signs.

Warning

Note: in most post-Soviet states, crossroads warning signs, including those in Russia and the CIS countries, are classified as priority signs, despite the fact that these signs have a shape typical of warning signs in European countries.

Built-up area limits

Under the Vienna Convention the begin and end built-up area signs imply a change between built-up area and rural traffic rules including speed limit. In most post-Soviet states, road signs with the locality name and the object, including river names, on a white or blue background are used. Road signs with the name of the built-up areas on a white background indicate the entrance of the built-up areas, where the maximum speed limit inside them is introduced. Road signs indicating leaving built-up areas on a white background remove the maximum speed limit inside built-up areas and introduce a maximum speed limit outside built-up areas instead. Road signs with the name of the locality on a blue background inform drivers that their car route does not pass through the locality itself, but only through its most remote part.^[39] Such signs are not used in Moldova.

In Lithuania, road signs may indicate both the end of a built-up area or locality with its name and the nearest built-up area or locality with an indication of the distance.

In Belarus and Lithuania, road signs with the names of the built-up areas in may also feature a building silhouette.

In Estonia, road signs with the names of the built-up areas on a white background display both their name and building silhouette, or only the building silhouette.

In Armenia and Georgia, road signs with the names of settlements are in two languages: Armenian and English in Armenia, and Georgian and English in Georgia, due to the fact that these countries use scripts other than Cyrillic and Latin in their official languages.

In Ukraine, in accordance with the new road sign standard DSTU 4100:2021, the names of settlements are written in Cyrillic and Latin.

In Moldova, there's a slightly different version of the road sign indicating the entrance of built-up areas: on top, it has the building silhouette on the right and a sign indicating the maximum speed limit on the left, or only the building silhouette in the center, on a yellow background, and on the bottom, it has the name of the built-up area on a white background, similar to Romania.

Border crossing

The table below shows road signs with the name of the country at the entrance to their territory and the countries' general speed limits. Such signs are installed only at the entrance to the country. The maximum speed limit when driving on roads in built-up areas, outside built-up areas and on highways in post-Soviet states may vary depending on their traffic regulations, which establish general speed limits. Most post-Soviet states use border road signs with the names of the countries that display their flag and/or coat of arms. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania use border road signs with the name of the country and 12 stars on a blue background, since these countries are European Union members. However, unlike most European Union countries, Estonia has a border road sign with the coat of arms on the left, the 12 stars of the European Union on the right, and the country names EESTI VABARIIK and REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA in Estonian and English, respectively, in the center.

Breakaway states

Road signs used in unrecognized and partially recognized states formed on the territory of the former Soviet Union such as the Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are generally modeled on those used in modern Russia.

Transnistria

Road signs in Transnistria are regulated by the Republic's standards ГОСТ Р 52289-2009 and ГОСТ Р 52290-2009 which are entirely based on the Russian standards ГОСТ Р 52289-2004 and ГОСТ Р 52290-2004.^[40]

See also

• Comparison of European road signs
• Traffic sign
• Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

References

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