Russian national anthem
The State Anthem of the Russian Federation (Russian: Государственный гимн Российской Федерации, Gosudárstvenni Gimn Rossíiskoi Federátsii) is the national anthem of Russia. It is an adaptation of the anthem of the Soviet Union from between 1944 and 1990, whose music was originally composed by Aleksandr Aleksandrov. The lyrics for the anthem of the Russian Federation were revised by Sergei Mikhalkov from the lyrics of his own 1943 and 1977 versions of the Soviet anthem. This third and final version removes all mentions of Lenin's name and ideas, communism and the "unbreakable union" of the Soviet state, focusing instead on describing a sprawling country with vast amounts of resources entrusted to future generations.
At the end of 2000, President Vladimir Putin decided to adopt the anthem, which replaced The Patriotic Song, which had been the official anthem since 1990. This fact has not been without controversy, given that, although the lyrics no longer have anything to do with Stalin's Russia, the music is the same as the one used by the Soviet Union, although mentions of Stalin had already been removed from the lyrics of the Soviet anthem in 1953.
The Russian SFSR was the only republic in the Soviet Union without its own anthem. The free lyrical piece titled "The Patriotic Song", composed by Mikhail Glinka, was officially adopted in 1990 by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and confirmed in 1993, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The government sponsored contests to create lyrics for the anthem, which had become unpopular due to its inability to inspire Russian athletes during international competitions. None of the proposals were satisfactory, so President Vladimir Putin decided to restore the old Soviet anthem and sponsor a contest to find a new letter for that composition, with Mijalkov's proposal winning. The new anthem was adopted in late 2000, and it became the second anthem used by Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
History of the anthem
Before Molitva rússkij ("The Russians' Prayer") was chosen as the national anthem of the Russian Empire, various church hymns and military marches were used to honor the country and the tsar. Molitva russkij was adopted around 1815 and used Vasili Zhukovsky's lyrics used for the music of the British anthem, "God Save the King" ).
In 1833, Zhukovsky was asked to write new lyrics for a musical composition by Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov called The Russian People's Prayer. It was well received by Nicholas I, who decided that the song, popularly known as "God Save the Tsar", was the next hymn. The song was similar to a religious hymn and its musical style was similar to other hymns used by European monarchs. "God Save the Tsar" was used until the February Revolution, when the Russian monarchy was overthrown. The tune appears in several English-language hymn collections beginning with the words "God the Omnipotent! King who ordainest/Thunder thy clarion, lightning thy throne!” (or variants).
After the abdication of the Tsar and his family in March 1917, the Russian Provisional Government used as its unofficial anthem La Marseillaise of the Workers, a modification of the French anthem La Marseillaise Made by Piotr Lavrov. Written in 1875, its use as an anthem was short-lived. After the provisional government was replaced by the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution of 1917, that of the Communist International, The Internationale, was adopted as the new anthem. Eugène Pottier, a French national, wrote the lyrics for this song and the music was composed by Pierre Degeyter, a Belgian composer. Translated into Russian by Arkady Yakovlevich Kots in 1902, The Internationale was used as the anthem of Soviet Russia from 1918 and was used by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1944.
Music
The music of the national anthem, created by Aleksandr Vasilyevich Aleksandrov, had been used in various hymns and compositions prior to its use in the Russian anthem. The first time music was used was in the Bolshevik Party Anthem, created in 1938. When the Comintern dissolved in 1943, it was considered the need to replace The Internationale, which had historically been associated with the Comintern, for the National Anthem of the Soviet Union. Aleksandrov's music was chosen for this purpose in 1944 by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Before Aleksandrov created the Bolshevik anthem, he had already used pieces of the music for the song Zhit stalo luchshe ("Life Has Become Better"), the lyrics of which were written by Lebedev-Kumach based on Stalin's famous phrase pronounced in 1935.
During the anthem debate in 2000, the newspaper Lenta.ru discussed whether the music Aleksandrov had created for the Soviet anthem was similar to the overture Bylina by Vasily Kalinnikov, composed in 1892. Supporters of the Soviet anthem used this consideration in the various debates that took place in the State Duma over changing the anthem. There is no evidence that Aleksandrov adopted or used parts of it. deliberate overture in his work.
Letter
In 1943, Mikhalkov and El-Registan completed the task of writing lyrics that were approved a year later by Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death in 1953, the composite lyrics of Mikhalkov and El-Registan were discarded during the government's de-Stalinization process and the anthem continued to be used, but without the official lyrics. Mikhalkov wrote a new version of the letter in 1970, but it was not submitted to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet until May 27, 1977. The new letter, which replaced any mention of Stalin, was approved on September 1 and declared official with the edition of the new Constitution of the Soviet Union in October 1977. This letter was used until 1991, when the Soviet Union broke up into fifteen nation-states.
From 1991 to 2000, more than 6,000 proposals with different versions of the lyrics were sent to a commission in charge of selecting the national anthem. Although most of the versions used the music of Mikhail Glinka, some used Aleksandrov's version and other melodies. In 2000, the Kremlin and President Putin decided that Aleksandrov's music was preferred, then they chose Mikhalkov's lyrics out of all the proposals and worked together with Mikhalkov rewriting part of the lyrics until the final version was reached. Before its adoption, the Kremlin published a section of the anthem, which made reference to the flag and coat of arms:
- Your powerful wings are unfolding upon us
- The Russian eagle is flying high
- The tricolor symbol of the motherland
- He will lead the Russian people to victory
When Mikhalkov made final changes to the lyrics in December 2000, this section was not included. The new lyrics focus on the Russian homeland, spacious and great, entrusted to all future generations by God. This was a radical departure from the lyrics of the Soviet anthem, which praised Stalin, communism, and promised that the "union of new and free republics" would stay together forever.
Current anthem and its adoption
After the year 2000, there were attempts to refine The Patriotic Song, the Russian anthem adopted in 1991 by then-President Boris Yeltsin after the fall of the Soviet Union. The main problem with the anthem, whose music was composed by Mikhail Glinka, was that it had no words and could not be sung during various events and ceremonies, and most Russians found it "complicated, unoriginal and hard to remember". There were several attempts to compose lyrics for the anthem, including Viktor Radugin's 1990 composition Be glorious, Russia! (Славься, Россия! [Slavsya, Rossiya!]), but none were adopted by Yeltsin.
The debate over the anthem was beginning to gather momentum in October 2000 when Vladimir Putin, Yeltsin's successor, commented that Russian athletes had complained that they had no words to sing during medal ceremonies at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. CNN also reported that players of the Spartak Moscow football club complained that they the wordless anthem "affected his morale and performance". Various options were considered, but a public poll showed that Aleksandrov's music, familiar to most Russians, had 49 percent support.
Putin pushed for the former Soviet anthem to be selected as the new Russian anthem, but insisted that new lyrics be written. The Duma voted on December 8 to adopt the use of music from the Soviet anthem composed by Aleksandrov for the new anthem, obtaining the following result: 381 votes in favor, 51 votes against, and one abstention. Also on the same day it was decided on the adoption of the Russian coat of arms and flag. When choosing the anthem, the Russian parliament only approved the music, giving the President the right to approve the lyrics. Andrei Popov, presidential adviser on domestic policy and a member of the working group, noted that "the text of the decree approving the anthem with Mikhalkov's words was prepared by Putin to be signed early this week [January 1, 2001]. Ratified by President Putin on December 20, the new anthem was used officially for the first time during a ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
Controversies
Not everyone agreed with the anthem change. Yeltsin, Putin's predecessor, was also among those who opposed the restoration of the Soviet anthem music as the Russian national anthem, the second criticism he has made publicly (the first being in the summer of 2000 after the sinking of the Kursk atomic submarine) towards the man he promoted as successor. In this regard, he said that “the president of a country should not blindly follow the opinion of his people. On the contrary, he must actively influence it.” The liberal political party Yabloko maintained that the re-adoption of the Soviet anthem “increases the division within [Russian] society”.
Those who opposed Aleksandrov's music tried not only to keep the Patriotic Song but also to get the Duma to vote on the Tsarist military march, Farewell to Slavyanka. One of the most famous dissidents was the writer Vladimir Voinovich, who even wrote a parody of the anthem as a proposal for the new anthem, showing the writer's disagreement with the continuous change of state symbols. Duma member Sergei Yushenkov he even suggested that his proposal should be considered and voted on by members of the Russian Parliament, but his request was denied. Because the Russian anthem has the same melody as the once Soviet anthem since 1944, there have been controversies and there are even those who swear not to stand up during their performance.
However, the Russian Communist Party showed strong support for this decision; in fact, the communist deputy Anatoli Lukyanov stated that "the fact of adopting the music of the anthem of the Soviet Union as the emblem of the Russian Federation cannot be seen in any way as compromising the condition of the Russian state or an insult to our democracy". He also received the support of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Legal aspects
With the Decree of December 8, 2000 (ratified by the Federation Council on December 20, 2000) on the State Anthem of the Russian Federation (from Russian: О Государственном гимне Российской Федерации) establishes the State Anthem of the Russian Federation, its description and the order of official use. An annex is also included in which the score of the anthem is shown, as well as versions for symphony orchestra and music band.
Although it is optional to perform the anthem using only the music, only the lyrics, or a combination of both, the official lyrics and music must be used as provided by law. Once a performance is recorded, it can be used for any purpose, such as broadcast on television or radio. In addition, it can be performed during solemn occasions or for a celebration or celebration, but its performance is required during the oath of the new president of Russia, the beginning and end of the session of the Duma and the Federation Council and official state ceremonies. The anthem is also played on television and radio before the beginning and at the end of the programming or if This is continuous, it is played at 12 noon and 6 in the morning; as well as at sporting events both in Russia and abroad, always in accordance with the protocol of the organization that hosts the matches. When the anthem is performed, everyone must remove any head covering and must face the Russian flag if it is present. Those in uniform must perform the military salute while the anthem is played.
According to article 8 of Russian copyright law, state symbols are not protected by copyright. Therefore, the anthem and its lyrics can be freely used and modified. Although the Decree on the Russian Anthem suggests accepting responsibility for interpreting the anthem in a way that may be offensive and disrespectful, no provisions have yet been made in other laws that would define such acts and establish a penalty.
Putin once reprimanded the national soccer team in the summer of 2004 over their behavior while the anthem was played. Before the Euro 2004 qualifying matches began, the team appeared on camera chewing gum as the Russian anthem played. Putin, using Leonid Tyagachyov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, as an intermediary, urged the team to stop chewing gum and sing the national anthem.
Official Lyrics
Original in Russian
Cyrillic (official) | Latin Alphabet (transliteration) | AFI transcript |
Россия – священая наша держава, | Rossiya – svjašcennaja naša deržava, | [r]хsjijø svjj εの]のののの яna]ě djπ]avě] |
Literal translation into Spanish
Russia, our holy homeland,
Russia, our beloved country.
A mighty will, a great glory —
They are your inheritance for all eternity!
Chorus:
- Glory to you, our free homeland,
- eternal union of brotherly peoples!
- The popular wisdom given by our ancestors!
- We are proud of you!
From the southern seas to the polar regions,
Our forests and fields stretch out.
You are unique in the face! You are inimitable —
Protected by God, homeland.
- Stribillo:
Glory to you, our free homeland,
- eternal union of brotherly peoples!
- The popular wisdom given by our ancestors!
- We are proud of you!
- Stribilly
- A vast space to dream and live,
- We're open for future years.
- It gives us strength loyalty to the Homeland.
- That's right, that's right and it'll always be!
- Stribilly
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