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Ukraine
WorldRussia & Central Asia

Song of defiance: Ukraine’s national anthem heard around the globe

  • Singing and performance of song was banned when Ukraine became part of Soviet Union in 1922; it regained its status after the USSR broke up
  • Ukrainians before and during invasion have been singing, with song also a part of worldwide protests against the Russian attack

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A demonstrator sings the Ukraine national anthem during a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Washington, US, on Sunday. Photo: Bloomberg
Tribune News Service

The Ukrainian national anthem, adopted after the fall of the Soviet Union, has become a rallying song amid Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainians sang the song, “Ukraine’s Glory Hasn’t Perished” as Russian troops amassed outside the country. And it has been performed in Ukraine and around the world as a sign of support for Ukraine and as an anti-Russian protest.

The anthem originates from a 19th century Ukrainian poem titled “Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet” which was set to music, according to the National Anthems Info website. But singing and performance of the song was banned when Ukraine became part of the Soviet Union in 1922.

Vitaliy Fedurtsya holds his hand over his heart while singing the Ukrainian national anthem at a demonstration Sunday in Montreal, Canada, against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Reuters
Vitaliy Fedurtsya holds his hand over his heart while singing the Ukrainian national anthem at a demonstration Sunday in Montreal, Canada, against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the song regained its anthem status and in 2003 the country’s parliamentary body, which had adopted the music as an anthem in 1992, approved lyrics.

Those were changed slightly in the first stanza to say, “Ukraine’s freedom has not yet perished, nor has her glory,” instead of “Ukraine hasn’t yet died, nor has her glory or freedom,” NationalAnthems.info says. (Still, some online sites continue to use the “has not yet died,” phrasing.)

Ukraine’s anthem on world stage

As Russia’s invasion began, performances of the song became prevalent across the globe.

A video of a group of women and children singing the anthem while sheltering on Friday in the central Ukraine city of Cherkasy spread on social media and was covered internationally on media sites. Several also included a trumpet soloist playing the anthem in Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine.

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