My Belarusy

"My Biełarusy" 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] Soon after 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]

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 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]

"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 the German occupation of Belarus in 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, a religious hymn, is also actively used by those who oppose the Lukashenko Government.[12]

A favourite in the anthem competition was the poem called Young Belarus (Маладая Беларусь) by Janka Kupala. However, the poem was never set to a musical composition so Young Belarus could not be selected as the anthem.[15]

The governments of Belarus and Russia have been working towards a closer relationship with each other, resulting in the proposed Union of Russia and Belarus. While Belarus and Russia will be able to keep their own symbols, a song called Sovereign Union of Nations has been proposed as the Union's unofficial anthem. The song, which was modified from the National Anthem of the Soviet Union, refers to a wider union of the two nations.[16]

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  Vocal, page one
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  Vocal, page two
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  Instrumental, page one
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  Instrumental, page two

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• Скачать гимн Республики Беларусь
• Belarus: My Belarusy – Audio of the national anthem of Belarus, with information and lyrics
• "a page on the anthem that includes a vocal version". The Website of the President. President of the Republic of Belarus.
• "Decree 350 (President Lukashenko's decree selecting "My Belarusy" as the official national anthem)" (in Belarusian). 2002-07-02. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04.
• "Sovetskaya Belorussiya – An article on the selection process" (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 2012-07-30.
• "Recordings of the Belarusian anthem". Archived from the original on 2005-05-24.