This article is about road signs used in the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991. For the road signs used in today's post-Soviet states, see Traffic signs in post-Soviet states.
Road signs in the Soviet Union were regulated in the ГОСТ 10807-78 standard which was introduced on 1 January 1980.[1][2] This standard also specified the typeface used on road signs. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, this standard continued to apply in all countries that were formerly Soviet republics until some of them adopted their own national standards for road signs. The shapes and colors of road signs in the Soviet Union, and now in all post-Soviet states, fully comply with the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, to which the Soviet Union was originally a signatory. On 8 November 1968, the Soviet Union signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, and on 7 June 1974 ratified it with some declarations and reservations made upon ratification.[3][4]
Road signs in the Soviet Union were divided into 7 categories:
Warning signs (Предупреждающие знаки)
Priority signs (Знаки приоритета)
Prohibitory signs (Запрещающие знаки)
Mandatory signs (Предписывающие знаки)
Information signs (Информационно-указательные знаки)
Service signs (Знаки сервиса)
Additional signs (Знаки дополнительной информации (таблички))
Below are images of road signs used in the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991. The galleries shown below do not show road signs that were included in the ГОСТ 10807-78 standard after 1991. The vast majority of road signs shown below are still used in post-Soviet states such as Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan but with some modifications in design.
7.6.4 Method of parking the vehicle (park in backwards)
7.6.5 Method of parking the vehicle (front wheels of car facing curb)
7.7 No idling engine while parked here (Number of dangerous turns must be incorrect)
7.8 Paid services
7.9 Limitation of parking duration
7.10 Place for car inspection
7.11 Limitation of the permitted maximum mass
7.12 Dangerous roadside
7.13 Direction of the main road
7.14 Traffic lane
7.15 Blind pedestrians
Road signs of 1973
1.19 Pedestrian crossing
1.20 Children
2.3 No motor vehicles
2.7 No tractors
3.4 Cars only
3.6 Footpath
4.9 A One-way road
4.9 B Exit to a one-way road
4.13 Pedestrian crossing
Road signs of 1953
Warning signs
1.01 Railway crossing
1.02 Intersection
1.03 Sharp curves
1.04 Sharp curve to the right
1.05 Sharp curve to the left
1.06 Steep descent
1.07 Other hazards
1.08 Main road crossing
Prohibitory signs
2.01 No entry
2.02 No vehicles
2.03 No motor vehicles
2.04 No lorries
2.05 No motorcycles
2.06 No cycling
2.07 No horse-drawn carts
2.08 Weight limit
2.09 Height limit
2.10 No stopping
2.11 No parking
2.12 Speed limit
2.13 No overtaking
2.14 Trucks may not overtake
2.15 No beeping
Mandatory signs
3.01 Proceed straight
3.02 Turn right
3.03 Turn left
3.04 Proceed straight or turn right
3.05 Proceed straight or turn left
3.06 Turn right on red light
3.07 Turn right on green light
3.08 Proceed straight on green light
3.09 Turn left on green light
3.10 Turn left on red light
3.11 U-turn
3.12 Pedestrian crossing
3.13 Parking
Post-Soviet states
After 1991, the ГОСТ 10807-78 standard was replaced by the new ones, i.e., national standards for road signs in each of the post-Soviet states:
In Russia, it was replaced by the ГОСТ Р 52290-2004 standard on January 1, 2006.[5][6] The same standard applies to road signs used in Kyrgyzstan since October 2019[7][8] and Armenia[9][10] (with inscriptions in Armenian and English);
In Ukraine, it was replaced by the ДСТУ 2586-94 standard in 1994,[11][12] later ДСТУ 4100-2002 on January 1, 2003,[13] ДСТУ 4100-2014 on July 1, 2015,[14] ДСТУ 4100:2021 on November 1, 2021;[15][16]
In Belarus, it was replaced by the СТБ 1140-99 on October 1, 2001,[17] later СТБ 1140-2013 on July 1, 2014;[18]
In Kazakhstan, it was replaced by the СТ РК 1125-2002 standard on January 1, 2004,[19] later СТ РК 1125-2021 on July 1, 2022;[20]
In Uzbekistan, it was replaced by the O'zDST 3283:2017 standard on December 15, 2017.[21]