Russian National Anthem
Admittedly, God Save the Queen is not bad. And our own Wilhelmus could have become something, if at least that German blood and Spanish king had been left out. But the national anthem with the most grandeur is, of course, the Russian one. And to quote the closing words (так было, так есть и так будет всегда): so it was, so it is, and so it will always be.
The text begins, in both of the first two sentences, simply with Россия (Russia). Our sacred might (священная наша держава), our beloved country (любимая наша страна). No foreign blood or king from afar.
Putin
The current National Anthem of the Russian Federation was (re)established in 2000 by Vladimir Putin. See Wikipedia, where you’ll also find the lyrics. The Telegraph on December 9 of that year: Putin revives Soviet national anthem. The issue was also addressed in Putin’s Witnesses (2018), the documentary by Vitaly Mansky or Виталий Манский, which captures Putin’s first year as president. Why the rush with the anthem, and what did it signify? Unfortunately, it’s no longer available via 2Doc; reviews at Trouw and Volkskrant.
History
Putin’s change wasn’t the first, and perhaps won’t be the last. See The Russian National Anthem (from 1816 to now) on Historiek.net, the Complete Guide to Russian National Anthems (Smart History Blog, 2016), and What is the puzzling story behind Russia’s national anthem? (Russia Beyond, 2018). Watch Russian anthems history – All the Russian official and unofficial anthems (2016, 39 m).
It remains the Greatest National Anthem of All, in all its versions. Or, in the words of Pieter Waterdrinker: A person can say what they want, but WHAT an anthem!.
Performances
The Russian national anthem is available online in many versions and formats. With glory and memory visuals (with translation), as a Hall of Fame (list of names below the video), sung by a children’s choir, with soldiers, with reggae, and in sign language.
Besides a clip with lyrics in Russian (see below), there’s a version with phonetics and translation, and the anthem of the USSR has also been preserved—spot the differences.
Phonetics of a completely different kind in Soviet Anthem Misheard. Further jokes about Russia’s national anthem should be avoided: Russians could face jail for insulting anthem (BBC, 2016).
More
- Putin and Russian Olympic Team Sing National Anthem Together (2018)
- Russian people sing Russian national anthem (2017)
- Anthem of the Soviet Union (Rock Version) (text in English, 2016)
- Russian Anthem by Russian Army (2013)
See also
How the Soviet Anthem Became a Meme (KhAnubis, 2018, 3 m).
Play it yourself:
How to play ‘Soviet Anthem’ Guitar Tutorial (Soviet Guitar, 2019, 1.5 m).
Language learning:
Learn Russian Through Music – Russian National Anthem (Russian for Americans, 2019, 9 m).
Signoff: USSR TV End of Day Sign-off with Anthem
(TreeMovies, 2019, 4 m)
See the explanation on YouTube.
More
Country
The Netherlands holds a unique place in the Russian imagination. This is how our country, and we, are viewed through Russian eyes.
An interview becomes legendary when it gets its own page on
Wikipedia. On February 6, 2024, Tucker Carlson spoke with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The report (127 minutes) offers a good, or at least broad, opportunity to hear the Russian perspective on the war against Ukraine.
What we would call ’tokkies’ or ‘gabbers’, and what elsewhere might be referred to as white trash or hooligans – in Russia, these are called gopniki. Folk culture in a tracksuit.
Since the age of sixteen, Игорь Мухин (1961) has been taking photographs. Armed with a
Смена-8М camera, he started his journey. So, when he found himself among artists and musicians in the 1980s, he already had a trained eye – and a better camera. Mukhin (sometimes Moukhin) witnessed major changes and began documenting them.
Freedom of speech is decreasing everywhere, though the reasons vary by region. Meanwhile, Big Tech’s power is growing, along with its interference. In this new era, a nearly forgotten Soviet answer is reemerging: samizdat, the underground DIY press and distribution network.
Every country has a flag and a coat of arms. The Netherlands has a lion, France has a rooster, New Zealand has a kiwi, and the United States has a bald eagle. In Russia, it’s an eagle with two heads and three crowns, and a man on a horse who has just killed a dragon with a spear.
