Pahonia () is a

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 ...

ian patriotic song based on the eponymous poem by

Maksim Bahdanovič Maksim Adamavich Bahdanovich (, ; ; 9 December 1891 – 25 May 1917) was a Belarusian poet, journalist, translator, literary critic and historian of literature. He is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literature.

Background

The poem ''Pahonia'' by

was written in 1916 in

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 ...

. It was later translated into English by

Vera Rich Vera Rich (born Faith Elizabeth Joan Rich, 24 April 1936 – 20 December 2009) was a British poet, journalist, historian, and translator from Belarusian and Ukrainian. Biography Born in London in April 1936, she studied at St Hilda's College ...

. During the interwar period, the youth of Western Belarus (at the time part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

) sang this poem to the tune of the French

Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "". The French Nati ...

. The music was written by Belarusian composer and immigrant activist Mikalay Shchahlou-Kulikovich, who in the 1950s and 1960s released five musical albums in the United States which included his own compositions, covers of ethnic Belarusian songs, and songs to the works of various Belarusian poets. The song was originally meant to be sung

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 ...

Mikola Ravienski Mikola Jakaŭlievič Ravienski (; ; 5 December 1886 – 9 March 1953) was a Belarusian composer, conductor and music critic who authored music for the famous hymn Mahutny Boža (Almighty God). Early life Ravienski was born on 5 December 1886 ...

, and

Vladimir Mulyavin Vladimir Georgievich Mulyavin (; (Uladzimer Heorhijevič Muliavin); 12 January 1941 – 26 January 2003) was a Belarus, Belarusian and Russian rock musician and the founder of the folk-rock band Pesniary. Biography Vladimir Mulyavin was born i ...

also made covers of this song as well as other Belarusian musicians and bands. In the early 1990s, Shchahlou-Kulikovich’s version was considered as one of the options for the national

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

of the Republic of Belarus. In 2020, under the patronage of Anton Miaža a choral performance of the anthem was recorded with an orchestra accompaniment.

Usage

In 2020, the anthem resurged in popularity as one of the symbols of the 2020 Belarusian protests against the

Lukashenka 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 ...

regime, along with the

white-red-white flag The white-red-white flag is a historical flag used by the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918 before Western Belarus was occupied by the Second Polish Republic and Eastern Belarus was occupied by the Bolsheviks (two years later becoming the ...

. The anthem was spontaneously performed in several public places: near the

Belarusian State Philharmonic The Belarusian State Philharmonic is a musical institution based in Minsk, Belarus. History The Belarusian State Philharmonic was founded on 25 April 1937. It featured a symphony orchestra, a Belarusian folk instruments ensemble, a dance ense ...

, in malls, in the Minsk subway, at the Minsk , and at the

Minsk railway station Minsk-Pasažyrski (, ) is the main passenger railway station in Minsk, Belarus. It is located in the centre of Minsk. It is sometimes called ''Minsk Ploshchad Lenina'' due to the Ploshchad Lenina (Minsk Metro), metro station serving the terminal, ...

Lyrics

The poem “Pahonia” was written by

in the middle of

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

in 1916 in front-line wartime

, Belarus. It was first published in the Belarusian newspaper “Free Belarus” (“”) on 30 November 1917. The poem alludes to the history of the mighty medieval state,

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

(of which Belarus was part), its coat of arms “Pahonia” and the

Gate of Dawn The Gate of Dawn (), or Sharp Gate (, , , , ) is a city gate in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and one of its most important religious, historical and cultural monuments. It is a major site of Catholic pilgrimage in Lithuania. History T ...

in Vilnius, which was the capital of that medieval state. Through the image and motif of the ancient Lithuanian Pahonia, the poet considers the contradictory present and the uncertain future of Belarus during World War I. “This is a poem-reflection, which is characterised by journalistic elements: the lyrical hero's appeals to “ Pahonia”, to Belarus, the Motherland, many interrogative and exclamatory intonations.” Жыццё і творчасць Максіма Багдановіча (1891–1917) (The life and work of Maksim Bahdanovič (1891–1917))
(in Belarusian) When it is performed as an anthem, the last stanza is usually not sung, but the last lines of the second, fourth, and sixth stanza are sung twice.

References

Bibliography

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Музыкальное видео с текстом
{{authority control Belarusian songs

Background

Usage

Lyrics

See also

References

Bibliography