On August 24, 1991, Ukraine was proclaimed the Act of Independence of Ukraine, and already on December 5 of the same year, “Ukraine is not dead yet” was first heard at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada dedicated to the results of the All-Ukrainian referendum and the presidential election, performed by the National Honored Academic People’s Choir named after G. G. Verovki.
In January 1992, the Verkhovna Rada approved “Ukraine is not dead yet” as the national anthem. However, only on March 6, 2003, the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine “On the National Anthem of Ukraine”, which approves the national anthem “Ukraine is not dead yet”, to the music of Mykhailo Verbytskyi with the words of the first verse and the chorus of Pavel Chubynskyi, the National Anthem in the following version:
“Neither the glory nor the will of Ukraine has died yet
Fate will smile on us, brothers of youth.
Our witches will die like dew in the sun.
We, brothers, will also rule on our side.
Chorus:
We will give soul and body for our freedom,
And we will show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack race.”
At the suggestion of President Leonid Kuchma, the first line of the song was changed: instead of “Ukraine is not dead yet, and glory and will” became “Ukraine is not dead yet, and glory and will.”
Historical facts of the creation of the text and music of the hymn
Thanks to Panteleimon Kulish, together with the poems of Taras Shevchenko, the poem “Ukraine is not dead yet” will be included in the Lviv magazine “Meta”, which began to be published in 1863 in Lviv, and at the end of the same year in the fourth issue among other poems of Taras Shevchenko, the poem was printed for the first time, but not as written by Pavlo Chubynskyi: “Ukraine is not dead yet”, but “Ukraine is not dead yet”. That is why it was considered Kobzar’s work for a certain time in Galicia. In fact, the author of the poem was the Ukrainian ethnographer, public figure, poet Pavlo Chubynskyi, who wrote it in Kyiv in the fall of 1862 at one of the parties attended by members of the Kyiv Community.
Poet Pavlo Chubinsky
Then the poem was read by the Galician priest and composer Mykhailo Verbytskyi. This poem appealed to him both for its patriotic content and the lightness of the form, and right there, during the week, Verbytskyi wrote the notes for the poem. At first, the composer presented this song as a soloist and performed it himself on the steps of the “Community” gymnasium in Przemyśl. And so that all members of the “Community” could sing this patriotic song together, he made a choral composition out of it.
Pavlo Chubynsky was personally acquainted with Kobzar, loved his work and wrote a poem reminiscent of Shevchenko’s poetry. And in Galicia, the composer of the music also loved Shevchenko, and Mykhailo Verbytsky created the music for the poem by Pavel Chubynsky precisely because he thought it was Shevchenko’s work.
For the first time, the future hymn was publicly performed on March 10, 1865 in Przemyśl as the final concert number of the first secular “Vespers in memory of Taras” in Galicia.
And the first recorded record of the anthem “Ukraine is not dead yet” performed by Mykhailo Zazulyak on a gramophone record was recorded by Columbia Studio, USA, in 1916.
The path to approval of “Ukraine is not dead yet” as the national anthem of Ukraine
Not surprisingly, the Ukrainian national anthem suffered the most severe repression during Soviet times. Thus, in 1919, the Denikinites destroyed about 60 copies of the anthem, and during the Bolshevik regime, the song was declared “bourgeois-nationalist” and those who spread it were brutally persecuted, and the performance could be paid not only with freedom, but also with life. The main reason for the ban is the text, which did not allow Ukrainians to forget that they are Ukrainians, that Ukraine is not dead, that we are of the Cossack race.
The official anthem of the Ukrainian SSR in the period 1949–1991. was a poem by Pavlo Tychyna “Live, Ukraine, beautiful and strong”.
In the conditions of Soviet repressions, repressions and murders of cultural figures in Ukraine, a resistance movement was born, which gained the greatest strength in the 1980s. Then there were events that determined the direction of development of future independent Ukrainian culture. Among them is the Chervona Ruta festival in Chernivtsi in 1989, which became a challenge to the Soviet system and a harbinger of Ukraine’s independence. On September 24, at the festival, for the first time in many years, “Ukraine is not dead yet” was played publicly. Vasyl Zhdankin, after awarding the winners of the competition, unexpectedly began to perform the song, involving singers Viktor Morozov and Eduard Drach. According to Kyryll Stetsenko, at that moment, “the Ukrainian spirit descended on the artists,” and public figure Orest Danylevich noted:
“The entire stadium stood up and began to sing the future anthem of independent Ukraine. It was a poignant moment, many had tears in their eyes. It was the real apogee of the Festival. For the first time in Soviet Ukraine, our national anthem was sung by tens of thousands of citizens.”
On April 9, 1990, a song was performed in the Lviv Opera House before the beginning of the session of the Lviv Regional Council of People’s Deputies of the 21st (“first democratic”) convocation, which was quite a remarkable event at that time. The first arrangement for the orchestra was made by the artistic director and conductor of the Galician Symphony Orchestra, Rostyslav Demchyshyn.
And already after the Verkhovna Rada promulgated the Act of Independence of Ukraine, beginning on September 17, 1991, Ukrainian radio began its broadcasts with the anthem song “Ukraine is not dead yet.”
Every year on March 10, Ukrainians celebrate the Day of the National Anthem of Ukraine. And so in 2023, 160 years have passed since the creation of the music and 20 years since the adoption of the song “Ukraine is not dead yet” to the words of Pavlo Chubynskyi from Transnistria and music by Mykhailo Verbytskyi from Galicia as the National Anthem of Ukraine.
Permissions and prohibitions regarding the use of the text and music of the National Anthem of Ukraine
The Law of Ukraine “On the National Anthem of Ukraine” defines:
1) Ceremonial events of national significance begin and end with the performance of the National Anthem of Ukraine.
2) Musical performance of the National Anthem of Ukraine is performed during official state ceremonies and other events.
3) Insulting the National Anthem of Ukraine entails responsibility provided for by law.
According to Art. 338 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, public insult to the State Flag of Ukraine, the State Emblem of Ukraine or the State Anthem of Ukraine – is punishable by a fine of 17,000 UAH. up to UAH 68,000 or arrest for a term of up to 6 months or imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years.
What actions can fall under the insult of the National Anthem of Ukraine? This can be a distortion of the offensive text or music of the National Anthem, distribution of its text with a distortion of its content and meaning. Insult can be carried out both publicly and secretly, but on the condition that in the future these actions will be demonstrated to other persons. Such crimes are considered completed from the moment of committing any act related to desecration of state symbols and it does not matter whether the person succeeded in carrying out his intention to the end or not.
Photo by Mykola Tymchenko 12.12.12 First meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the VII convocation
In 2023, there was an incident with the singer Jamala, in which the public accused the artist of almost violating the National Anthem of Ukraine. Jamala performed the national anthem at the Game4Ukraine charity match in support of our country, which took place on August 5, 2023 in London at the home arena of London Chelsea, Stamford Bridge Stadium. The singer performed the anthem in a special manner peculiar to this singer, experimenting with the arrangement of music and, in fact, performance. And this presentation of the song caused a mixed reaction from Ukrainians. Some commentators even wrote that Jamala spoiled and desecrated the solemn composition-symbol. The star was criticized for a “special” performance of the national anthem of Ukraine using a large number of vocalisms.
But, based on the interpretation of the concept of insulting the symbols of Ukraine, such a “special” performance cannot be considered a distortion of the national anthem. Neither the words nor the original music underwent changes that distorted the content and meaning of the hymn.
Any artist, like Jamala, has the right to perform the anthem as he sees it, as his creative nature speaks and as each singer feels about the song.
Thus, during the years of Ukraine’s independence, the National Anthem in its own arrangement was performed and continues to be performed by such famous Ukrainian stars as Oleksandr Ponamariov, Olya Polyakova, DZIDZIO, as well as the Finnish band Apocalyptica. Also, a special arrangement and performance of the national anthem of Ukraine exists in the rock version by Mykyta Rubchenko, performed by 14 nationalities of Ukraine, and in the orchestral-instrumental arrangement by A. Avdievskyi.
What about copyright and related rights and obtaining permission to perform and arrange the National Anthem?
On February 26, 2022, the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Art Education called on musicians to include in concert programs and perform the national anthem of Ukraine in support of the Ukrainian people.
According to Article 20 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the National Anthem of Ukraine is the State Symbol of Ukraine. And the State symbols of Ukraine are not protected by copyright, according to Part 4 of Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”.
Composer Mykhailo Verbytskyi
Thus, in order to create your own interpretation of the performance of the national anthem of Ukraine in the original arrangement, you do not need to obtain the appropriate permission from the copyright holders. But the arrangement, which is defined by the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights” as a derivative work, that is, a work created as a result of creative processing of the original work, in this case should not affect the text of the anthem itself. The text must remain in the version specified by the Law of Ukraine “On the National Anthem of Ukraine”.
At the moment when the corresponding artist performs the national anthem of Ukraine in his own arrangement, the artist has related rights to its performance, and the corresponding author of the arrangement (which can be the artist himself) has copyright to the arrangement, because during the processing, the musician can add new instruments and give the classic version of the hymn music a new color and quality of sound, without distorting the original melody. And such related and copyright rights of the corresponding artist receive protection, according to the norms of the current legislation of Ukraine.
A vivid example of the violation of related rights to performance and copyright to the arrangement of the national anthem of Ukraine was the case with Ukrainian singer Oleksandr Ponomarev. The anthem performed by him was muted by the Facebook social network during the broadcast of the meeting of the Nemyshaiv village council, which it posted on the social network. Facebook motivated such a “ban” of the broadcast by the fact that it may violate copyright. As a result, it was established that Oleksandr Ponomaryov created his own arrangement of the anthem and performed it, and it was this recording of the performance, which is already protected, that the Nemyshaiv village council used at its meeting.
Thus, before using a recording of the national anthem of Ukraine performed by any artist, be it Oleksandr Ponomarev, or Olga Polyakova, or DZIDZIO, and publishing a video using such a recording, you must obtain the appropriate written permission from the owner of the copyright for the arrangement and related rights of the executor.
