In 1949, the flag of the Soviet Ukraine was changed once again. The Soviet Union managed to obtain two additional seats in the United Nations by adding as members Ukraine along with Byelorussia. The change was due to the fact that all the Soviet flags were the same. The new Ukrainian flag consisted of a red (top, 2/3) and an azure (bottom, 1/3) stripes, with the golden star, hammer and sickle in the top left corner. The Communist party leaders such as Khrushchev and Kaganovich were afraid of using words "light blue" and "blue" which were used by the Ukrainian diaspora.