The State Anthem of Ukraine, also known by its incipit "" and its original title "", is one of the state symbols of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The lyrics are a slightly modified version of the first verse and chorus of the patriotic song "", written in 1862 by

Pavlo Chubynskyi Pavlo Platonovych Chubynskyi (1839 – January 26, 1884), also anglicized as Paul Chubinsky, was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian poet and ethnographer, best known as the author of the lyrics to the national anthem of Ukraine, set to music by Mykhailo Verb ...

, an ethnographer from

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. In 1863,

Mykhailo Verbytskyi Mykhailo Mykhailovych Verbytskyi ( ; March 4, 1815 – December 7, 1870), also anglicized as Michael Werbitzky, was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer and a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He is considered to be ...

, a composer and Catholic priest, composed the music to accompany Chubynskyi's lyrics. The first choral public performance of the piece was in 1864 at the

Ruska Besida Theatre The Ukrainska Besida Theatre (; until 1916: Ruska Besida Theatre, ) – was the first Ukrainian professional theatre in operation from 1864 to 1924. Its first performance took place in the premises of The Ukrainian National Home (Народний ...

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

. In 1865, the song was performed in the Polish city of

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

(then part of the

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

) during a commemoration of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

. This historic moment later became the foundation for Ukraine’s National Anthem Day, which is celebrated yearly on March 10. In the first half of the 20th century, during unsuccessful attempts to gain independence and create a state from the territories of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, the song was the national anthem of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

, the

West Ukrainian People's Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (; West Ukrainian People's Republic#Name, see other names) was a short-lived state that controlled most of Eastern Galicia from November 1918 to July 1919. It included major cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Kolom ...

, and

Carpatho-Ukraine Carpatho-Ukraine or Carpathian Ukraine (, ) was an autonomous region, within the Second Czechoslovak Republic, created in December 1938 and renamed from Subcarpathian Rus', whose full administrative and political autonomy had been confirmed by ...

. A competition was held for a national anthem following Ukraine's secession from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, with one of the songs being "" by the Ukrainian writer and actor

Mykola Voronyi Mykola Kindratovych Voronyi (, ; December 6, 1871, – June 7, 1938) was a Ukrainian writer, poet, actor, director, and political activist. Born in Rostov-on-Don and growing up in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate, he acted in the troupes of Marko ...

. "" was officially adopted by the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

—Ukraine's parliament—on 15 January 1992. The official lyrics were adopted on 6 March 2003 by the Law on the State anthem of Ukraine ().

History

Background

The Ukrainian national anthem can be traced back to one of the parties of the Ukrainian ethnographer

that occurred during the autumn of 1862. Scholars think that the Polish patriotic song "

Poland Is Not Yet Lost "Poland Is Not Yet Lost", also known in Polish language, Polish as "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" (; ) and formerly the "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy", is the national anthem of Poland. The original lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggi ...

", which dates back to 1797 and later became the national anthem of Poland and the Polish Legions, also influenced Chubynskyi's lyrics. The Polish patriotic song was popular among the nations of the former

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

that were at that time fighting for their independence; the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

started a few months after Chubynskyi wrote his lyrics. According to a memoirist who was present, Chubynskyi wrote the lyrics spontaneously after listening to Serbian students singing

Svetozar Miletić Svetozar Miletić ( sr-cyr, Светозар Милетић; 22 February 1826 – 4 February 1901) was a Serbian lawyer, journalist, author and politician who served as the mayor of Novi Sad between 1861 and 1862 and again from 1867 to 1868. ...

's "" () during a gathering of Serbian and Ukrainian students in an apartment in Kyiv. Chubynskyi's words were rapidly taken up by the earliest

Ukrainophiles Ukrainophilia is the feeling or expression of interest in, respect for, and appreciation of Ukrainians on the part of a non-Ukrainian. More specifically, a Ukrainophile is someone who has a strongly positive predisposition or sympathy towards Ukra ...

. In 1862, the head

gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

, Prince Vasily Dolgorukov, exiled Chubynskyi to

Arkhangelsk Governorate Arkhangelsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Arkhangelsk. The governorate was located in the north of the Russ ...

for the "dangerous influence on the minds of commoners". The poem was first officially published in 1863 when it appeared in the fourth issue of the

-based journal ; the journal mistakenly attributed the poem to Taras Shevchenko. It became popular in the territories that now form part of

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

and came to the attention of a member of the Ukrainian clergy,

of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

. Inspired by Chubynskyi's lyrics, Verbytskyi, then a prominent composer in Ukraine, decided to set it to music. The lyrics were first published with Verbytskyi's sheet music in 1865. The first choral public performance of the piece was in 1864 at the

in Lviv. One of the first recordings of this anthem (then spelled "") in Ukrainian was released on a gramophone record by

Columbia Phonograph Company Columbia Records is an American recor ...

during World War I in 1916. As a folk song, it was performed by a Ukrainian emigrant from Lviv and New York resident Mykhailo Zazuliak in 1915.

Early use

Shche ne vmerla Ukraina The State Anthem of Ukraine, also known by its incipit "" and its original title "", is one of the state symbols of Ukraine. The lyrics are a slightly modified version of the first verse and chorus of the patriotic song "", written in 1862 ...

" was not used as a state anthem until 1917 when it was adopted by the

as its national anthem. Still, even between 1917 and 1921, the song was not legislatively adopted as an exclusive state anthem as other anthems were also used at the time.

During the Soviet period

In 1922, the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

signed the

Treaty on the Creation of the USSR A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...

with the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

Transcaucasian SFSR , image_flag = Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR (variant).svg , flag_type = Flag(1925–1936) , image_coat = Emblem of the Transcaucasian SFSR (1930-1936).svg , symbol_type = Emblem(1930–1936) ...

, and

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

, which created the Soviet Union. Following the signing of the treaty, "" was banned by the Soviet regime. The authorities later decided that each separate Soviet republic could have its anthem, but "" was rejected in an attempt to help to suppress separatist sentiments held by Ukrainian nationalists. In 1939, "" was adopted as the official state anthem of

. After

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

ordered that "

The Internationale "The Internationale" is an international anthem that has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since ...

" be replaced with the

State Anthem of the Soviet Union The State Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original ...

in 1944, all the constituent republics of the union were forced to produce each of their representative regional anthem as well. The Ukrainian government established a commission on the anthem on 23 February 1944. Soviet authorities, after a period of struggle, successfully persuaded public intellectuals to create an anthem with lyrics fitting their political interests and music sterile of any Ukrainian national elements. On 23 February, the Ukrainian chairman Mykhailo Hrechukha started a meeting by reading a synopsis of the anthem-to-be in front of musicians and litterateurs: the Ukrainian nation's union with the Soviets were envisaged for the first stanza; the Ukrainian people, their struggles, and "freedom" under

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 ...

and Stalin were envisaged for the second stanza; Ukraine's economic and political "flourishing" in the union were envisaged for the third stanza. The refrain was conceived to be used after each stanza, which was considered as a

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek (also or ), "song ...

to the union of the Soviet peoples and the reunited Ukraine following the

Soviet annexation of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia On the basis of a secret clause of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17, 1939, capturing the eastern provinces of the Second Polish Republic. Lwów (present-day Lviv), the capital of the Lwów Voivodeshi ...

. Composers worked on the score before the decision on the lyrics; by February 1945, 11 composers were selected as finalists. Anton Lebedynets' score won with an overwhelming majority vote, and the score was adopted as the music of the new Soviet anthem in November 1949. Earlier in January 1948, the lyrics of

Pavlo Tychyna Pavlo Hryhorovych Tychyna (; – September 16, 1967) was a major Ukrainians, Ukrainian poet, translator, publicist, public activist, academician, and statesman. He composed the lyrics to the Anthem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Lif ...

and co-author Mykola Bazhan won; due to plagiarism of his text, Oleksa Novytskyi demanded to be listed as a co-author, but to no avail. On 21 November 1949, the new anthem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted. Borys Yarovynskyi edited and reorchestrated the anthem in 1979.

Post-independence

On 15 January 1992, "" was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament, as the state anthem and was later instituted in the Ukrainian Constitution. However, the lyrics for the anthem were not officially adopted until 6 March 2003, when the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on the state anthem of Ukraine (), proposed by then-president

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...

. The law proposed Mykhailo Verbytskyi's music and Pavlo Chubynskyi's first stanza and refrain of his poem "". However, the first line of the lyrics was to be changed from to . The law was passed with an overwhelming majority of 334 votes out of 450, with only 46 MPs opposing. Only the members of the

Socialist Party of Ukraine The Socialist Party of Ukraine (, abbreviated SPU) was a social democratic and democratic socialist Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest parties in Ukraine and was created by former members of the Sov ...

and the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...

refrained from voting. The national anthem that up until then had only officially consisted of Mykhailo Verbytskyi's music, would henceforth also include the modified lyrics of Pavlo Chubynskyi. The popularity of the Ukrainian anthem has become particularly high in the wake of the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...

protests of 2004 and

Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

of 2013. Ukrainian composer

Valentyn Sylvestrov Valentyn Vasylyovych Sylvestrov (; born 30 September 1937) is a Ukrainian composer and pianist, who plays and writes contemporary classical music. Biography Valentyn Vasylyovych Silvestrov was born on 30 September 1937 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, th ...

, who participated in Ukrainian protests in Kyiv, characterized the Ukrainian anthem thus:

Since Euromaidan and the Russo-Ukrainian War

During the Euromaidan protests of 2013, the anthem became a revolutionary song for the protesters. In the early weeks of the protests, they sang the national anthem once an hour, led by singer

Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko (, ; born 24 May 1973),Руслана – Биография< ...

. In ''

World Affairs ''World Affairs'' is an American quarterly journal covering international relations. At one time, it was an official publication of the American Peace Society. The magazine has been published since 1837 and was re-launched in January 2008 as a ...

'', Nadia Diuk argues that the national anthem was used as "the clarion call of the 'revolution'" during Euromaidan, which added weight to protests that previous ones, such as the Orange Revolution, lacked. In a 2014 survey, after being asked "How has your attitude toward the following changed for the last year?", the

Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS; , КМІС) is a Ukrainian organization conducting sociological research in the fields of social and socioeconomic research, marketing research, political research, health studies, and research con ...

found that the attitude towards the Ukrainian national anthem had "improved a lot" in 25.3% of Ukrainians, especially after the start of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. After the start of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, several orchestras in Europe and North America performed the Ukrainian national anthem in order to show their solidarity with Ukraine.

Lyrics

The

incipit The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...

"" reminds Ukrainians about their struggle for national self-identity and independence. It was sung as the ''de facto'' national anthem at the inauguration of Leonid Kravchuk, the first Ukrainian president, on 5 December 1991, but it was not until 6 March 2003 that Chubynskyi's lyrics officially became a part of the national anthem. The Constitution of Ukraine designated Verbytskyi's music for the national anthem on 28 June 1996: On 6 March 2003, the Parliament of Ukraine officially adopted the anthem's lyrics, opting to use only the first stanza and refrain from Chubynskyi's original poem, while slightly modifying the first stanza.

Current official lyrics

Full modern lyrics

The first verse and chorus of the following lyrics constitute a more popular (commonly performed) version of the anthem. Differences from the official lyrics are italicized.

Original lyrics (1862)

The first stanza of Chubynskyi's original poem is somewhat similar to the first stanza of national anthems of Poland and Yugoslavia and "

Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...

", the national anthem of Israel.

Adaptations

The song "", written as a "song of resistance" during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, is inspired by the opening motif of the Ukrainian national anthem.

Notable arrangements and performances

* "Ukraine has not perished!". Mykhailo Zazulyak. Columbia Studio, U.S., 1915; * "Ukraine has already risen!" (Вже воскресла Україна!) (1926 year) by Mykhailo Zazulyak; * National anthem of Ukraine (Rock Version) by Nicky Rubchenko; * Anthem of Ukraine performed by 14 nationalities of Ukraine; * Anthem of Ukraine in orchestral and instrumental arrangement by Anatoly Avdievskyi; * National anthem of Ukraine performed by

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is currently composed of three classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Originally a Classical music, classical- ...

; * National anthem of Ukraine performed by Dzidzio; * National anthem of Ukraine performed by

Tina Karol Tetiana Hryhorivna Liberman (born 25 January 1985), better known by her stage name Tina Karol, is a Ukrainian singer and founder of the Tina Karol Charitable Foundation, Tina Karol charitable foundation. In 2006, she was chosen to represent Uk ...

; * National anthem of Ukraine performed by

Jamala Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally as Jamala,. is a Ukrainian singer. She represented and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944 (song), 1944". In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 ...

* National anthem of Ukraine performed by Oleksandr Ponomaryov * National anthem of Ukraine performed by

Vopli Vidopliassova Vopli Vidopliassova ( , ), also shortened to VV (), is a Ukrainian rock band. It was created in 1986 in Kyiv, Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Kyiv, Ukraine). The leader of the band is singer Oleh Skrypka. Vopli Vidopliasova are the founde ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{portal bar, Ukraine, Music 1862 songs 1860s songs 1863 compositions 1860s compositions Compositions in G minor European anthems National anthems National symbols of Ukraine Music of Ukraine Ukrainian patriotic songs Ukrainian songs Ukrainian nationalism Songs in Ukrainian

History

Background

Early use

During the Soviet period

Post-independence

Since Euromaidan and the Russo-Ukrainian War

Lyrics

Current official lyrics

Full modern lyrics

Original lyrics (1862)

Adaptations

Notable arrangements and performances

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links