The State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus, better known as "We Belarusians", is the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. It was originally written in the 1940s and adopted in 1955 for use in the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...
. The music of the
Belarusian SSR anthem was composed by
Niescier Sakałowski and the lyrics were written by
Michas Klimkovič. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
, the music composed by Sakalowski was kept and the lyrics were discarded. New lyrics, which were written by Klimkovič and
Uładzimir Karyzna, were adopted by a presidential decree issued on 2 July 2002.
Evolution
Anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
"" was originally used as the anthem of the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...
starting from 24 February 1955. It was presented in front of a jury in 1944, but it took 11 years of modifications before it was officially adopted. 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 "
Mahutny Boža" as the national anthem, but the suggestion was not acted on even though it was supported by a parliamentary committee.
Anthem of the Republic of Belarus
After independence 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 Belarus
The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (; ) is the supreme basic law of Belarus. The Constitution is composed of a preamble and nine sections divided into 148 articles.
Adopted in 1994, three years after the country declared its independen ...
. Section 1, Article 19 of the constitution states that "
e 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.
A law specifying a national anthem was not enacted until Presidential Decree 350 took effect on 18 July 2002, the day before
Independency 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.
According to the newspaper ''
Soviet Byelorussia'',
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...
decided on the anthem on 12 June 2002 and chose to have its first performance on Independence Day, the anniversary of the date in 1944 when
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
was recaptured from the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
. However, the first performance of the anthem 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 song. While the references to Russia, the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
and
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
were replaced; the overall theme of "friendship of peoples" and the original music composed by Sakałowski were preserved. The government stated that it had decided to keep Sakałowski's music in order to maintain historical continuity, and also on account of its popularity and musical quality. After the national anthem was adopted, the process of adopting national symbols was completed.
Reaction
The organization
Freedom House
Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...
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 "", 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 (due to pro-Nazi
Belarusian Central Rada usage during World War II). In 2003, Dr. Taras Kuzio wrote in
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
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.
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.
National anthem proposals
"Vajacki Marš"
"Vajacki Marš" ('Warrior March') was the official anthem of the
Belarusian Democratic Republic
The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...
,
a Belarusian state that was created in 1918 but lasted only 10 months, during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Since 1919, the song has been used as an anthem of Belarus by the
Belarusian diaspora
The Belarusian diaspora () refers to emigrants from Belarus which includes their descendants.
According to different researchers, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 million Belarusian descendants living outside the territory of the Republic of Bel ...
in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, as well as in countries like
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. It is still considered the official anthem used by the
government-in-exile of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.
"Mahutny Boža"
"Mahutny Boža" ('Almighty God'), a
Christian hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
, is also actively used by those who oppose the Lukashenko regime.
"Pahonia"
The song "
Pahonia", based on the poem by
Maksim Bahdanovič. and set to music by
Mikałaj Ščahłow-Kulikovič, has been performed ''
a capella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
'' during the
2020 Belarusian protests and experienced a resurged popularity following the events.
"Małaja Biełaruś"
"Małaja Biełaruś" ('Young Belarus') is a poem written by
Janka Kupała in the early 1900s. However, the poem was never set to a musical composition, so it could not be selected as the anthem.
"Žyvie Biełaruś!"
The anthem "Žyvie Biełaruś!" ('
Long Live Belarus!'), with lyrics by
Uładzimir Niaklajew and music by
Vasil Rainčyk, won a 1992 non-binding contest and was occasionally used afterwards. For the 2002 contest, a revised version with the title "Krasuj, Biełaruś" ('Flourish, Belarus!') was submitted, coming first in the vote with more than 37,300 votes. 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).
Lyrics
The first verse and chorus are the most commonly performed parts of the anthem played during official ceremonies.
Notes
References
External links
Скачать гимн Республики БеларусьBelarus: ''My Belarusy'' – Audio of the national anthem of Belarus, with information and lyrics*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
European anthems
Music of Belarus
National symbols of Belarus
National anthems
Songs in Belarusian
Compositions in F major