State Anthem of Ukraine

The national anthem of Ukraine was written in the 1860s and formally adopted in 2003.

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Quotes[edit]

Before 2014, few people sang the national anthem, apart from ethnic Ukrainians. After 2014, everyone sang the national anthem. This is something that Vitaly Portnikov, a prominent Ukrainian journalist, pointed out to me. When he said, “Now everyone sings the national anthem,” I first thought he was speaking metaphorically, or poetically. But he meant it literally.
- Jay Nordlinger, "The End of Illusions" (4 April 2022), The National Review

The Ukrainian anthem is amazing. At first it doesn't impress you at all, but that's only at first glance. Indeed, this anthem was created by Mykhailo Verbytsky, clerical composer of the mid-19th century. He lived under the Austrian monarchy, probably was fond of Schubert; he had an euphonic gift – it's clear from his liturgical compositions. He was a church composer. And this patriotic song, he created as a church composer. This chant is a Hallelujah. No other anthem has this! It's a unique piece: the anthem of Ukraine, which at the same time has all characteristic features of a liturgy's beginning. Some memory of a liturgy, of an all-night vigil, has submerged in this anthem. It seems as if wind blows in this simple chant, as if tree branches are singing.
- Valentyn Sylvestrov, translated from "Валентин Сильвестров: 'Читайте Шевченка, доки не пізно...'" (29 December 2013), by Maria Semenchenko, The Day, Kyiv