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!
Category: Anthems
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!
Dagestan is a Russian region located in the North Caucasus, with access to the Caspian Sea. Its area is slightly larger than Slovakia, and its population is about 3 million people.
The southernmost point of Russia is located in Dagestan, at coordinates 41 degrees north latitude. And the region is also home to the oldest still existing city in Russia – Derbent, which is more than 2000 years old. A significant part of the republic is covered with mountains, which means that it is a pretty good place for mountain tourism.
A large number of different peoples live in the republic, and its constitution says that the official languages of the region are the languages of those peoples who live there. Of those languages that have a writing system and are mentioned anywhere, in addition to Russian, it is possible to see Aghul, Avar, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Dargwa, Kumyk, Lezgin, Lak, Nogai, Rutul, Tabasaran, Tat and Tsakhur.
In recent times the region has been recognized for producing some of the world’s best athletes in combat sports and produces the most MMA fighters of any region relative to population. Dagestani born Khabib Nurmagomedov was a UFC Lightweight Champion who retired undefeated.
Let’s talk about it’s anthem. It is quite new since it was adopted in 2016. The anthem is called "the Oath". Its lyrics are a translation into Russian of a part of a poem by the famous Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, and the music was written by one of the Dagestani composers.
The Lyrics of the anthem in English are below as always.
Lyrics:
Down the peaks creeks stream into the seas,
Away the birds fly into the heights.
You are my heart, you are my fountain,
You are my oath, Dagestan.
Chorus:
To you I swear my loyalty,
You’re the air I breathe; you’re the air I sing.
Constellation of families aplenty,
O my little nation, yet so imposing.
Feats of highlanders, kinship, honour,
There you were, and now here you are!
O my Dagestan and my Russia,
Together and forever!
To you I swear my loyalty,
You’re the air I breathe; you’re the air I sing.
Constellation of families aplenty,
O my little nation, yet so imposing.
Dagestan!
The Komi Republic is located in the north of the European part of Russia. The region is quite extensive, it is worth mentioning that its area is larger than Germany or Japan. However, due to its location in a zone with a rather harsh climate, the population is not very large, just over 700,000 people.
The Komi peoples, who make up just over 20% of the region’s population, speak the Komi language, which is part of the Uralic, or Finno-Ugric language family. This means that It is in some way distantly related to languages such as Finnish or Hungarian.
The two major groups into which the Komi peoples are divided are the Komi-Zyryans and the Komi-Permyaks. Komi-Zyryans are mostly native to Komi Republic, while a large number of Komi-Permyaks live in the Perm Krai, Region where I live. That’s why at school we sometimes analyzed some parts of their culture, such as myths or folklore.
Most Komi myths are related to shamanism and paganism. The most widespread myths are about the creation of the world as a result of the struggle of two gods, En and Omyol. These 2 deities are regarded as creator-gods in the Komi mythos, who created all life in the world (though it was En who would vivify them). As the Komi were gradually Christianized, the depictions of En & Omyol began to mirror those of God & Satan, in which Omyol would be depicted as the latter due to his efforts to hamper En’s creation process.
Let’s talk about the anthem of the Region.
The original melody was written in 1923, and then was slightly changed to become the anthem in 1994. In 2006, modern versions of the Lyrics appeared in Komi and Russian, and since then the anthem has existed in its modern form. It consists of two verses: one in Komi, and one in Russian. Below I will leave the English Lyrics as usual.
Lyrics:
Far, far away in the North,
The immense taiga* standeth.
There a falcon’s nest resteth,
Joyous chirps heard from the breadth.
Fly away, fearless falcons,
Flutter thy mighty grand wings!
𝄆 Lead Komi land to new paths
To luminous life of bliss!
O North, thou land beloved,
Thy snowy fields deep and wide.
Thy winds wintry and frigid,
Thy taiga lofty and raised.
Brought through the past centuries
By thy mighty falcon wings.
𝄆 O Komi land, thy future
Gloweth merrily and fair!
*Taiga is a type of extensive coniferous forests, which is common in large areas in Russia and some other countries, for example in Canada.
Categories
Transnistria And Its Anthem
Between Moldova and Ukraine, mainly on the left bank of the Dniester River, there is an unrecognized state called Transnistria. It can be quite interesting for fans of unrecognized and partially recognized states, since it has all the features of a state, including even its own currency, which, as far as I know, is unique for unrecognized states, mainly using the currencies of neighboring countries.
This state appeared in the early 1990s, even before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Due to the approximately equal number of Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans there, its residents planned to remain part of the Soviet Union if Moldova left it or wanted to unite with Romania. However, later the Soviet Union collapsed, and the status of the state turned out to be uncertain. After the war in 1992, the conflict was frozen.
Now it continues to exist, although all recognized states consider it part of Moldova. But let’s talk about it’s anthem.
The melody to the anthem was written back in 1943, and was one of the proposed ones for the new anthem of the Soviet Union. However, a different anthem was chosen that time. Closer to 2000, the Lyrics were written, and since 2000 Transnistria has the anthem that exists now and it’s called "We Sing the Praises of Transnistria".
Since the state has 3 official languages Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan or Romanian, as you prefer, the anthem has 3 versions for each language. All of them are slightly different in content. However, a trilingual version has been invented that can be used for various official events. It consists of the first verse and chorus in Russian, the second verse and chorus in Moldovan, the first verse and chorus in Ukrainian and the final repeat of the chorus in Russian. And this version is presented here.
However, below I will leave the English Lyrics for all three versions so that you can find out what is sung in each of them.
The lyrics:
Russian version:
We sing glory to Transnistria,
Where the friendship of nations is strong.
We are closely connected to our land
With great love.
Let’s praise gardens and factories,
Settlements, fields and towns –
Much effort has been put in them
For the sake of the Motherland.
chorus
We’ll bear through the years
The name of the proud country,
And to the Republic of liberty,
And to justice, we’ll be faithful.
We sing the praises of native valleys,
The banks of the old Dniester.
We remember epic heroic deeds,
The glory of our ancestors is dear to us.
Let’s sing the praises of every person
Who died for the native land.
We take an oath to the Motherland
In holy memory of the fallen.
We’ll bear through the years
The name of the proud country,
And to the Republic of liberty,
And to justice, we’ll be faithful.
Moldovan (Romanian) version:
Long live Mother Transnistria,
A country of brothers and sisters
This love without notice
Gift you daughters, sons.
We’ll sing orchards and factories,
Cities, hamlets, plains,
With them also tomorrow
O country, prosperous make us be!
chorus
Through the time we shall carry
The name of our proud country
Thee, the Republic of liberty
You are the belief in peaceful horizons.
We shall sing both valleys and hills,
Morning stars from the gray old Dniester
Wise and old ballads
Which for centuries wanted us worthy.
We shall glorify the heroic name
Which fell in that battle
And in the face of the holy memory
We swear to the country to be its shield!
Through the time we shall carry
The name of our proud country
Thee, the Republic of liberty
You are the belief in peaceful horizons.
Ukrainian version:
We praise the land Transnistria
Where people are proud
Friendship, harmony, love
Are forever associated with it.
Famous for our plants,
Broad fields and cities
There are honest people
Who labor for the benefit of the Motherland.
chorus
Through shares and water
Our proud name
The Republic of freedom,
Long live the family of people here.
We praise native valley
Beauty of the Dniester river banks,
And we should not forget the epic
Of the deeds of our fathers.
Glorify their names
Fallen for our father’s house,
Where the sacred memory of the dead,
Fatherland sing the anthem.
Through shares and water
Our proud name
The Republic of freedom,
Long live the family of people here.
I’ve been thinking for a long time about what to post here besides radio stuff. Still, this topic is quite niche, and interesting to a small number of people. But then I remembered the anthems. There are a large number of them, and the national anthems are only some part of them. Many regions, organizations and the like have their own anthems, and I’m not even talking about historical ones, among which there are real masterpieces. Therefore, I will try from time to time to post various anthems that seem interesting to me. This post is the first in a series called "The Russian Republics".
Below is a bit of information about what I’m talking about at all.
According to its constitution, the Russian Federation is divided into 89 federal subjects, 24 of which are republics. Republics are administrative divisions originally created as nation states to represent areas of non-Russian ethnicity. The indigenous ethnic group that gives its name to the republic is referred to as the titular nationality. However, due to centuries of migration, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republic’s population.
Republics differ from other federal subjects in that they have the right to establish their own official language,. have their own constitution, and have an anthem. Other federal subjects, such as krais and oblasts, are not explicitly given this right. And anthems are what interests us here.
Let’s travel to Southern Siberia, where the republic called Tuva is located. Despite the fact that it is 2 times larger than Serbia, its population is only slightly more than 300,000 people. This territory is inhabited by Tuvans. Some people mistakenly think that Tuvans are related to Mongols. And they definitely have similar features, for example, both historically had a nomadic lifestyle, living in their yurts, and both are predominantly Buddhist peoples. However, Tuvans belong to the Turkic peoples, and have their own language, which is not similar to Mongolian. One of the things that Tuva is known for is the unique form of throat singing that exists there called Khoomei, which sounds generally softer than other styles of throat singing.
Speaking of it’s anthem, it is called "Men – tyva men" or "I am a Tuvan", and has been used since 2011. I discovered it about two years ago, and from time to time I come back to listen to it, because in my opinion it sounds strong and proud. Also, if you listen closely, you will be able to hear elements of throat singing in some fragments.
Below are the lyrics in English for those who want to know what is sung there.
The lyrics:
In the most sacred ovaa pass,
I set a stone and I prayed.
Tangdy, Sayan* most hallowed,
With white milk I purified.
Chorus:
I am a Tuvan,
The son of immortal snow-capped peaks.
I am a Tuvan,
The daughter of our homeland’s argent creeks.
In the land of my fathers,
Beloved bliss became thine.
Sound of khoomei** most divine,
Blessed be my Tuvan line.
I am a Tuvan,
The son of immortal snow-capped peaks.
I am a Tuvan,
The daughter of our homeland’s argent creeks.
We are made of holy tribes,
As brothers, friends together we thrive.
For progress as a whole we strive,
As allied Tuvans we live!
I am a Tuvan,
The son of immortal snow-capped peaks.
I am a Tuvan,
The daughter of our homeland’s argent creeks.
* Tangdy and Sayan are mountain systems located in Tuva.
** Khoomei is the Tuvan technique of throat singing.
P.S. Please give your feedback on whether you are interested in such posts and whether you would like to see more of them in the future.