My Belarusy Explained

Belarusian: Дзяржаўны гімн Рэспублікі Беларусь
English Title:State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus
Alt Title:Belarusian: «Мы, беларусы»
En Alt Title:We, Belarusians
Country:Belarus
Author:Michas Klimkovič and Uladzimir Karyzna
Lyrics Date:2002
Composer:Niescier Sakałoŭski
Predecessor:"State Anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic"
Music Date:1944
Adopted:24 September 1955 (music)
Readopted:2 July 2002 (with current lyrics)
Sound:Anthem-belarus-2002-instr-standard_2004.ogg
Sound Title:State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus

The State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus, better known as "We Belarusians", is the national anthem of Belarus. It was originally written in the 1940s and adopted in 1955 for use in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.[1] The music of the Belarusian SSR's regional anthem was composed by Niescier Sakałoŭski and the lyrics were written by Michas Klimkovič. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the music composed by Sakalowski was kept and the lyrics were discarded. New lyrics, which were written by Klimkovič and Uladzimir Karyzna,[2] were adopted by a presidential decree issued on 2 July 2002.

Evolution

Anthem of the Byelorussian SSR

See main article: Anthem of the Byelorussian SSR.

"" was originally used as the anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic starting from 24 February 1955. The original anthem was composed by Sakałoŭski and the lyrics were written by Maxim Klimkovich. It was presented in front of a jury in 1944, but it took 11 years of modifications before it was officially adopted.[3] When Belarus became an independent country, the national anthem was modified to drop the Communist-era lyrics. An attempt was made in 1995 to adopt Natallia Arsiennieva's poem "O God Almighty" as the national anthem, but the suggestion was not acted on even though it was supported by a parliamentary committee.[4]

Anthem of the Republic of Belarus

After the independence of Belarus in 1991, the country retained the anthem of the BSSR without lyrics for official use. The only legal mention of a national anthem in Belarusian law before 2002 was in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. Section One, Article 19 of the constitution states that "The symbols of the Republic of Belarus as a sovereign state shall be its national flag, national emblem and national anthem." While the constitution only mentioned the use of the flag, national anthem, and arms as state symbols, each symbol had to be defined by law.[5] A law specifying a national anthem was not enacted until Presidential Decree 350 took effect on 18 July 2002, the day before Belarus's independence day. The decree's main objective was to establish lyrics for the anthem and introduce musical notation along with the new lyrics. Moreover, the decree designated when, where, and how the anthem was to be performed.[6]

According to the newspaper Soviet Byelorussia, President Lukashenko decided on the anthem on 12 June 2002 and chose to have its first performance on 3 July—Belarusian independence day, the anniversary of the date in 1944 when the Wehrmacht was driven away from Minsk by the Red Army.[7] However, the first performance actually took place on 2 July at a concert organized by the government as part of the Belarusian independence festivities.

When Lukashenko issued his decree selecting a new national anthem, only slight changes were made to the Soviet-era hymn. While the references to Russia, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Vladimir Lenin were replaced; the overall theme of "friendship of peoples" and the original music composed by Sakałoŭski were preserved. The government stated that it had decided to keep Sakałoŭski's music in order to maintain historical continuity, and also on account of its popularity and musical quality.[8] After the national anthem was adopted, the process of adopting national symbols was completed.[8]

Reaction

The organization Freedom House commented on the adoption of the anthem in a report about the country, published in 2003. On page 125 of the "Country Report of Belarus", Freedom House says that President Lukashenko has "reintroduced the state symbols used by the old Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 2002, the president approved a streamlined version of the Soviet-era anthem "" ("We Belarusians"), as the country's new national anthem." The report also mentioned President Lukashenko's ban of the symbols that were used since Belarus's independence in 1991, such as the Pahonia arms and the white, red, white flag, which Lukashenko claims are associated with fascism (because the pro-Nazi Belarusian Central Rada in World War II used these symbols).[9] In 2003, Dr. Taras Kuzio wrote in Radio Free Europe that President Lukashenko "is the quintessential Soviet Belarusian patriot who presides over a regime steeped in Soviet nostalgia." Kuzio said that the motives of Russia and Belarus in re-adopting Soviet-era symbols are part of restoring that nostalgia.[10]

Usage and regulations

The anthem must be performed in accordance with the lyrics and sheet music established by law. Each day, all national free to air radio stations and television networks across the country are required to play it twice; at 06:00 when going on air and again at 00:00 upon going off air. The anthem can also be performed on certain occasions, such as at government meetings, before sporting events and presidential inaugurations. While the anthem is being performed, citizens are required to stand at attention and those in military or police uniform must to be in Full Russian-style hand salute (if not in formation).[11]

National anthem proposals

Vajacki Marš

See main article: Vajacki marš. "Vajacki Marš" (March of the Warriors) was the official anthem of the Belarusian Democratic Republic,[12] a Belarusian state that was created in 1918 but lasted only 10 months,[13] during World War I.

Since 1919, the song has been used as an anthem of Belarus by Belarusian emigrant communities in Western Europe and North America. It is still considered the official anthem used by the government-in-exile of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.[14]

Mahutny Boža

See main article: Mahutny Boža (Almighty God). "Mahutny Boža", a religious hymn, is also actively used by those who oppose the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

Pahonia

The song Pahonia, based on the poem by Maksim Bahdanovich and set to music by Mikalay Shchahlou-Kulikovich, has been performed acapella during the 2020 Belarusian protests and experienced a resurged popularity following them.[15] [16] [17]

Young Belarus

A favourite in the anthem competition was the poem called Young Belarus (Belarusian: Маладая Беларусь|Małaja Biełaruś|label=none) by Janka Kupala. However, the poem was never set to a musical composition, so Young Belarus could not be selected as the anthem.[18]

Žyvi, Biełaruś/Krasuj, Biełaruś

The anthem "Live, Belarus!", with lyrics by Uladzimir Nyaklyayew and music by Vasily Rainchik won a 1992 non-binding contest and was occasionally used afterwards. For the 2002 contest, a revised version with the title Flourish, Belarus! was submitted, coming first in the vote with more than 37,300 votes.[19] [20] However, the commission selected the later-adopted version, which came in third, claiming that it and the other two lower-placed songs, which all shared the BSSR anthem's melody, were selected by the total majority of voters (50,271 out of a total of 113,254).[21]

Lyrics

Belarusian lyrics

The first verse and chorus are the most commonly performed parts of the anthem played during official ceremonies.

Translations

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Belarus – My Belarusy . NationalAnthems.me . 2017-08-26 .
  2. Web site: a page on the anthem that includes a vocal version. President of the Republic of Belarus. The Website of the President. https://web.archive.org/web/20071013062721/http://president.gov.by/en/press29040.html#doc. 2007-10-13. dead.
  3. News: Виталий. СКАЛАБАН. ru:Когда авторы будут вскрыты.... 2001-01-09. Советская Белоруссия. http://sb.by/print.php?articleID=861. Беларусь Сегодня. 2008-02-23. ru. dead. https://archive.today/20120730152926/http://sb.by/printv.php?area=content&articleID=861. 2012-07-30.
  4. Web site: The National Anthem of Belarus. 2005. A Belarus Miscellany. https://web.archive.org/web/20081012054636/http://www.belarus-misc.org/anthem.htm. 2008-10-12. dead.
  5. Web site: Constitution of Belarus, Section 1 . 2008-02-26 . Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus . https://web.archive.org/web/20080216021746/http://www.president.gov.by/en/press19329.html . February 16, 2008.
  6. Web site: Указ № 350 ад 2 лiпеня 2002 г.. 2002-07-02. be . https://web.archive.org/web/20080304085452/http://www.president.gov.by/press15629.html . 2008-03-04. dead.
  7. News: Людмила. МАСЛЮКОВА. ru:Конкурс гимна: решающее мнение. 2002-07-12. http://www.sb.by/article.php?articleID=17696. Советская Белоруссия. 2008-02-12. ru. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202935/http://www.sb.by/article.php?articleID=17696. 2007-09-27.
  8. Web site: State System — State Symbols. 2007-10-13. President of the Republic of Belarus .
  9. Web site: Country Report of Belarus. 2008-02-23. 2003. Nations in Transit. Freedom House.
  10. News: Taras . Kuzio. Attitudes to Soviet past reflect nostalgia, pragmatism. 2003-08-13 . Radio Free Europe. 2017-08-27.
  11. Law of the Republic of Belarus. On National Symbols of the Republic of Belarus. Passed July 5, 2004. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
  12. Web site: National anthems of Great Litva . 2008-02-06 . 2003 . Heraldica Litvaniae . https://web.archive.org/web/20080223192532/http://www.geocities.com/heraldica_litvaniae/hymn.html. 2008-02-23.
  13. Book: Birgerson, Susanne Michele . After the Breakup of a Multi-Ethnic Empire . Praeger/Greenwood . 2002 . 101 . 0-275-96965-7 .
  14. http://www.radabnr.org/symbali/ Дзяржаўныя сымбалі Беларускай Народнай Рэспублікі
  15. Web site: Pesnyary – Пагоня (Pagonya) lyrics + English translation. 2020-10-01. lyricstranslate.com.
  16. Web site: Video . 8 January 2020 . YouTube . 30 August 2020.
  17. Web site: Особенности "беларускага адраджэння" в 1918–1920–х годах — Военный информационный портал Министерства обороны Республики Беларусь. 19 August 2020. mil.by.
  18. Web site: Belarus — The National Anthem. 2008-02-22. 1997.
  19. Web site: ru-RU. Актуально. Людмила МАСЛЮКОВА. sb.by. 2002-06-12. 2022-11-19. 2022-11-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20221119074910/https://www.sb.by/articles/aktualno-2.html.
  20. Web site: Красуй, Беларусь! (Леонид Пранчак) / Стихи.ру . 2024-01-28 . stihi.ru . be.
  21. Web site: Кур’яновіч . Аляксандр . 2018-01-01 . Карызна супраць Карэнды і неўміручы Сакалоўскі . 2024-01-28 . Новы Час . be.
  22. Web site: Гимн Республики Беларусь текст песни(слова).
  23. Book: Герб, флаг, гимн. Государственные символы Республики Беларусь. 9785040448951. Ванина. Ольга. 2017-09-05. Litres .
  24. Web site: Гимн Республики Беларусь текст песни(слова). GL5.RU, Yandex.