Today we are going to talk about the Russian region called the Republic of Mordovia. This region is located between Moscow and the Volga, and interestingly, it is the closest republic to the capital, the city of Moscow. It is slightly larger than Northern Macedonia, and its titular nation is Mordvins, which makes up about 39% of the population. The peculiarity of the Mordvins is that it is essentially two peoples: Erzya and Moksha. Although many consider them the same people, among the Mordvins themselves the differences are considered quite significant. Their languages are not mutually intelligible because of their differences, so members of both groups often use Russian to communicate with each other. Although both languages belong to the Mordovian languages of the Finno-Ugric group. There are also noticeable differences in culture, customs, and so on, so there is no doubt that these are 2 different peoples.
The anthem of Mordovia, which has been used since 1995, tries to show the friendship and common fate of the three main peoples of the republic: Moksha, Erzya and Russians. The first verse is in Moksha, the second in Erzya, and the third in Russian, while in the choruses you can hear a mixture of Moksha and Erzya words. As always, I will provide you with the lyrics and the anthem itself for you to hear.
Lyrics
Bright day, Mordovia! From the bottom of thy heart,
Bright day, Mordovia! In thine eyes shineth light.
Glittering across Russia the star of Moksha,
Surrounding Russia the dawn of Erzya.
Chorus:
Hail! Hail, Mordovia!
Ring! Ring, Mordovia!
Land beloved! Thy flowering spring,
Land beloved of Moksha-Erzya!
Hail! Hail, Mordovia!
Sing! Sing, Mordovia!
May joyous life come into thy hearth!
Peace be upon thee, Mordovia!
Strong may thou be as the sun blazeth!
Thou, Mordovia, cross’d a path grim and hard,
Thou, Mordovia, stoodest erect and proud,
Vast Moksha and swift Sura gave thee strength,
Thy heart and soul still like a pure spring.
Hail! Hail, Mordovia!
Ring! Ring, Mordovia!
Land beloved! Thy flowering spring,
Land beloved of Moksha-Erzya!
Hail! Hail, Mordovia!
Sing! Sing, Mordovia!
May joyous life come into thy hearth!
Peace be upon thee, Mordovia!
Strong may thou be as the sun blazeth!
Thou, Mordovia, cross’d a path long and hard,
Thou wert with Russia always and proud,
The free Moksha and Sura gave thee strength,
Thy soul and heart remain strong.
Hail! Hail, Mordovia!
Ring! Ring, Mordovia!
Land beloved! Thy flowering spring,
Land beloved of Moksha-Erzya!
Hail! Hail, Mordovia!
Sing! Sing, Mordovia!
May joyous life come into thy hearth!
Peace be upon thee, Mordovia!
Strong may thou be as the sun blazeth!
Month: April 2023
Today we’re going to move slightly west from Bashkortostan, which I told you about last time, and pay our attention to a republic called Chuvashia.
Chuvashia is located mostly on the right bank of the Volga, Europe’s longest river, between a couple of its major tributaries. Being slightly smaller than Israel, it is not the largest region, but it still has something to offer its visitor, from the culture of its people to its nature.
The titular nation of Chuvashia is the Chuvash, comprising just over 60% of the population. They are a Turkic people, but they are pretty unique. First, the Chuvash are mostly Orthodox Christians, and second, their language belongs to an almost completely extinct group of Turkic languages, and has some differences from its closest relatives.
According to Chuvash mythology, the world consists of three parts: the upper world, the middle world (in which people live) and the lower world. Each part had several layers: three layers in the upper world, one in the middle world, and three more in the lower world.
According to their myths, the earth was a square, and the Chuvash lived in its center. The firmament in the middle was supported by the World Tree. On four sides, at the edges of the earth’s square, the firmament stood on four pillars: gold, silver, copper and stone. There were nests on the top of the pillars, with three eggs in each of them, and with ducks sitting on the eggs. In every corner of the Earth, the Chuvash placed mighty-defenders.
The shores of the earth were washed by the ocean, and waves were constantly destroying the shores. It was believed that the end of the world would come when the edge of the earth reached the Chuvash, as well as when the Chuvash people themselves would disappear.
As for the Chuvash anthem, it received official status in 1997, although it was written more than 40 years earlier. The anthem tells us about the national pride of the Chuvash and also tells us about the things they consider important to them. As always, you can find the anthem itself in the attachment, and the lyrics below.
lyrics:
When springtime world awakens
When trills of jolly day are heard
My soul rejoices, my heart beats
I want to sing about my country.
Chorus:
𝄆 Oh motherland, 𝄇
The unforgettable
Beloved motherland.
𝄆 Oh motherland, 𝄇
Praise be to you,
My native land!
When the young have fun,
When parents admonish.
My soul rejoices, my heart beats,
I want to sing about my country.
𝄆 Oh motherland, 𝄇
The unforgettable
Beloved motherland.
𝄆 Oh motherland, 𝄇
Praise be to you,
My native land!
When relatives come together,
And when the Chuvash world rises,
My soul rejoices, my heart beats,
I want to sing about my country.
𝄆 Oh motherland, 𝄇
The unforgettable
Beloved motherland.
𝄆 Oh motherland, 𝄇
Praise be to you,
My native land!
It’s been a few months since I wrote something on this blog. I do not know what caused this break. Maybe I just lacked inspiration, or the reason is something else. Anyways, I am here again and I am ready to continue to acquaint you with various anthems, more precisely, with the anthems of the republics that are part of Russia. We have quite a long way ahead, as Russia got 24 republics, and we have covered only 3 of them so far. But let’s finally get started.
The Republic of Bashkortostan is located near the Ural Mountains, occupying their slopes and some nearby plains. It is quite big, even a little bigger than Greece. And its population of almost 4100,000 people makes Bashkortostan the most populated republic in Russia. This region has not only interesting things to see and try, such as river rafting, ski tourism and many others, but is also very rich in natural resources, such as oil.
The titular nation of Bashkortostan is Bashkirs. They make up about 30% of the population and are a Turkic people whose language, not surprisingly, is called Bashkir.
The Bashkirs traditionally practiced agriculture, cattle-rearing and bee-keeping. The half-nomadic Bashkirs travelled through either the mountains or the steppes, herding cattle. Wild-hive beekeeping is another attested tradition.
Traditional Bashkir dish bishbarmaq, which can also be found in the cuisines of some other Turkic peoples, is prepared from boiled meat and halma (a type of noodle), sprinkled with herbs and flavored with onions and some qorot (young dry cheese). Dairy is another notable feature of the Bashkir cuisine: dishes are often served with dairy products, and few celebrations occur without the serving of qorot or qaymaq (sour cream).
As for the anthem of Bashkortostan, the music for it was written back in 1990 and was inspired by one of the Bashkir folk songs. It was first officially approved in 1993, but in its current form with lyrics has existed since 2008. Below I will leave the lyrics in English as always, as well as the anthem itself in the audio attachment to the post. Hope you will like it.
lyrics:
Bashkortostan, land beloved and graceful,
Thou rich cradle of folks bountiful.
From the Urals ancient and beautiful,
To this land natal and wonderful.
Chorus:
Glory to Bashkortostan!
Blessed be this land elegant and divine.
With Russia we are together as one,
Blossom ye, Bashkortostan!
Bashkortostan, thou’st traversed arduous paths,
Through defeat we’ve overcome thy hardships.
Thy destiny awaiteth all of us,
Wave thy banner proud and glorious.
Glory to Bashkortostan!
Blessed be this land elegant and divine.
With Russia we are together as one,
Blossom ye, Bashkortostan!
My republic, shine like a beautiful star,
Thou rejoicest in happy success.
In this land we shall with honour progress,
We chant thee thine anthem harmonious.
Glory to Bashkortostan!
Blessed be this land elegant and divine.
With Russia we are together as one,
Blossom ye, Bashkortostan!