In 2018, Ukrainian kobzar Taras Silenko suggested that the Soviet patriotic march “Arise, vast country” during the Great Patriotic War was created based on the song of the early 1920s “Arise, my people,” which was born in the troops of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) [1; 2]. This version was supported by the writer Yuriy Andrukhovich [3] and disseminated by many Ukrainian media.
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The reliability of this version was assessed by Mark Beygelzimer , PhD, systems analyst, head of the Trust but Verify project.
Facts
Musical fragments and lyrics of both songs are presented below:
"Arise, vast country." Music - A.V. Alexandrov, poetry - V.I. Lebedev-Kumach.
Performer - Alexandrov Ensemble. Source: Alexander Bogdanov
"Arise, my people." Music and poetry are folk.
Performer - Taras Zhitinsky. Source: Taras Zhytynsky [4].
The English text below is a verbatim, not a literary translation of the Russian and Ukrainian poems
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Arise, vast country, Chorus: Let noble wrath Like two different poles, Chorus We shall repulse the oppressors Chorus The black wings shall not dare Chorus We shall drive a bullet into the forehead Chorus Let's go in with all our might, Chorus A great country is rising up, Chorus Source: Izvestia newspaper, |
This is the day of the people's war Chorus: Arise! Arise, my people. We are going to fight the enemy Chorus We don't need slavery and serfdom Chorus Source: [5, p. 60; 6, p. 39] |
The fact that the melodies “Arise, vast country” and “Arise, my people” are almost identical, and their texts are very close in meaning and literary constructions, leaves no doubt that these musical works are related to each other. There are three versions that can explain this relationship.
1st version. The song “Arise, vast country” was the prototype for the song “Arise, my people”.
2nd version. The song “Arise, my people” served as a prototype for the song “Arise, vast country”.
3rd version. Both songs are borrowings from a third, pre-existing composition.
To assess the likelihood of each of these versions, let us summarize the currently known facts that are in the public domain.
The song “Arise, vast country” (another name is “The Sacred War”) - appeared at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The lyrics of the song were published on June 24, 1941 simultaneously in the newspapers Izvestia and Krasnaya Zvezda, signed by the Soviet poet V.I. Lebedev-Kumach. According to the official version, Lebedev-Kumach wrote these poems in one night in response to an order from the editor of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper [7, p. 105]. Two days later, on June 26, composer A.V. Alexandrov provided music for this text. On the same day, the song was performed in Moscow, at the Belorussky railway station [7].
Public information about the song “Arise, my people” first appeared in 1947, simultaneously in two printed publications: in the book by Fyodor Pestushko (Ukrainian pseudonym – Yurko Stepovy) “In the Kherson steppes” [8, p. 34] and in a collection of songs of Ukrainian rebels collected by Stepan Golyash [9]. Subsequently, the poems and notes of this song (under the title “The Axis Day of the People’s War”) were published in a number of publications [5, p. 59; 6, p. 38; 10, p. 450]. The authors of the text and music are unknown, so the song is considered folk.
The date of creation of the song “Arise, my people” is not documented. However, analyzing its content, reflecting the struggle for the independence of Ukraine from Russia and Germany, it can be assumed that it was written either in the period from 1914 to 1922 (the First World War and the Russian Civil War), or in the period from 1941 to 1943 (The Great Patriotic War, but no later than 1943, when the song was recorded in the Ternopil region [5] by the author of the collection [9]).
Researchers Taras Silenko [1, 2] and Yuriy Andrukhovich [3] are inclined to the first time period, based on the mention of a stanza from a song in the book “In the Kherson Steppes,” which describes the events of 1920-1921. However, taken alone, this argument is not convincing, since the book was published in 1947, and quoting the song could be used as a literary device. However, two other circumstances increase the likelihood that the song was actually created in 1920-1921.
The first circumstance is connected with the word “Moscovia”, which the leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement used to call Russia, and not the Soviet Union. This speaks in favor of the version about the creation of the song during the civil war in Russia. The second circumstance concerns the melody of the song. It is unlikely that the Ukrainian rebels would have chosen a melody for their anthem that was very widely known as the anthem of their opponents, which also argues against the version that the song “Rise up, my people” was created during the Great Patriotic War.
Summarizing the presented arguments, we can say with confidence that the song “Arise, my people” was created during the civil war in Russia, most likely in 1920-1921.
Thus, based on known data, it can be argued that the song “Arise, my people” appeared about 20 years earlier than the song “Arise, vast country.” This is refuted by the 1st version indicated above, according to which the Ukrainian song is a borrowing from the Soviet one.
On the other hand, the 2nd version , according to which, on the contrary, the song “Arise, vast country” was created on the basis of the song “Arise, my people”, also seems unlikely. This is confirmed, in particular, by the fact that the first song has more stanzas than the second (7 versus 3). In addition, it is difficult to imagine how V.I. Lebedev-Kumach and A.V. Alexandrov could become familiar with the text and melody of a Ukrainian folk song by 1941, if its poems and musical notation were first published only in 1947.
The most likely is the 3rd version , according to which both songs are borrowed from a third, pre-existing composition. This version was expressed by music critic Lyubov Morozova [11]. In her opinion, the original composition was created in 1916 by Alexander Bode, a literature teacher in Rybinsk, possibly with the participation of his wife (an opera singer and music teacher).
The information that Alexander Bode is the author of the song “Arise, vast country” was first publicly announced in 1956 in a letter from his daughter, Zinaida Kolesnikova, addressed to composer Boris Alexandrov [12; 13]. In the letter, she expressed gratitude to his father, A.V. Alexandrov, for the orchestral music for the song and regret that V.I. Lebedev-Kumach hid the truth about the true author of its text - Alexander Bode.
In addition to the letter to Boris Alexandrov, Zinaida Kolesnikova also sent letters to Literaturnaya Gazeta in the early 1980s detailing the circumstances of the creation of the “The Sacred War” [14]. In particular, these letters contain the following text, which, according to Zinaida Kolesnikova, was written by her father in 1916:
The English text below is a verbatim, not a literary translation of the Russian poem
Arise, vast country!
Arise for a fight to the death
Against the dark Germanic power
With the Teutonic Horde!
Chorus:
Let noble wrath
Boil over like a wave!
This is the people's war,
"A Sacred war"!
Like two different poles,
we are different in everything.
We fight for light and peace,
They are for the “kingdom of darkness.”
Let's fight back against the stranglers
Of all the fiery ideas,
Rapists, robbers,
Torturers of people.
Chorus.
Black wings do not dare
To fly over the Motherland.
Its spacious fields
The enemy does not dare to trample!
Let's put a bullet in the forehead
Let's put a bullet in their foreheads.
For the brat of humanity
Let's build a strong coffin!
Chorus .
Let's go to break with all our might,
With all our heart, with all our soul,
For our dear land,
For our dear Russian land!
Arise, Huge Country!
Rise to the battle to the death
Against the dark German power,
With the Teutonic Horde!
Chorus.
According to Zinaida Kolesnikova, this text, along with the musical notation of the melody, was sent by mail in 1937 by Alexander Bode to V.I. Lebedev-Kumach.
The public disclosure of Zinaida Kolesnikova’s letters in the early 1990s (after the weakening of party censorship) provoked widespread debate in the Russian media regarding the authorship of the text and music of “The Sacred War.” Since no direct and irrefutable physical evidence has been preserved for either the Bode family version or the official version, researchers have focused on analyzing the available facts, logical inconsistencies, stylistic features, professional reputation of the alleged authors and other circumstantial evidence.
As a result, with regard to the text of the “The Sacred War”, researchers were divided into two opposing camps. Some, including professor of the Moscow State Conservatory Evgeny Levashev [15], journalists Andrei Malgin [16] and Vladimir Shevchenko [17], poet and literary critic Andrei Chernov [18], substantiate the authorship of Bode. Others, including musicologist Yuri Biryukov [7; 20], journalist Andrei Barinov [19] and the editors of Nezavisimaya Gazeta [21], defend the authorship of Lebedev-Kumach. Each side presents its own arguments.
But there is one argument that outweighs all the others (Andrei Chernov drew attention to it [18, p. 26]). In the drafts, written by Lebedev-Kumach, there are two phrases that are not in the final edition that was published, but are in Bode’s text from letters to his daughter, who has never seen Lebedev-Kumach’s manuscript. These are the phrases “We are different in everything...” (instead of “We are odds in everything...” in the final edition of Lebedev-Kumach) and “For the brat of humanity...” (instead of “For the scum of humanity...”). The likelihood of a coincidence of these phrases in letters to Bode’s daughter and in the unpublished manuscript of Lebedev-Kumach is negligible. This gives good reason to believe that it is the text of Alexander Bode that is primary, and Lebedev-Kumach corrected it.
Regarding the music of the song “The Sacred War,” most researchers are of the opinion that Alexandrov was the author. Only Evgeny Levashev, relying on historical and stylistic analysis and testimony of members of the Bode family, suggests that A.V. Alexandrov acted as an arranger, and the original melody belongs to Bode [15]. In this dispute, the decisive argument, which Lyubov Morozova drew attention to [11], but Russian researchers did not take into account in their studies, is associated with the Ukrainian song “Arise, my people.” As stated above, there are good reasons to claim that this Ukrainian song appeared in 1920-1921. The musical notation of this song, published in publications [9; 5, p. 59; 6, p. 38; 10, p. 450], corresponds to the melody “Arise, vast country!”, which indicates the appearance of this melody no later than the indicated dates, and not in 1941 (at the same time, there is no doubt that the masterful orchestration of the song was performed in 1941 by A.V. Alexandrov ).
Thus, taking into account the Ukrainian trace in this history, it can be argued that the text and melody of the song written by Bode in 1916 became the prototype for both the song of the Ukrainian rebels “Arise, my people” in 1920-1921, and for the song “Arise, vast country” from the Great Patriotic War.
Conclusion
The Soviet song “Arise, vast country” from the Great Patriotic War and the song of the Ukrainian rebels “Arise, my people” are not directly related. Both of them are borrowings from a song written by Alexander Bode during the First World War.
Information sources
1. Kobzar Taras Silenko: Soviet patriotic march “A Sacred War” is actually a song of the soldiers of the UPR Army. Archive copy dated April 4, 2022 on the Wayback Machine // Espresso TV, 09/27/2019.
2. Borrowed "A Sacred War". Archive copy dated April 18, 2022 on the Wayback Machine // “Day”, 01/31/2019.
3. “Arise, arise, my people!”. Archive copy dated April 4, 2022 on the Wayback Machine // UkrInform, 03.24.2022.
4. What are these Russian songs? Part 7 "Arise, my people". Taras Zhitinsky.
5. Chronicles of the UPA, volume 25. Songs of the UPA. Ed. Z. Lavrishin. Toronto-Lviv, 1996, 585 p.
6. Spivanik UPA. View. Zakordonikh parts of the OUN, 1950, 163 p. (in Ukrainian).
7. Yu.E.Biryukov. Always on guard. Stories about songs. M.: Education, 1988, 295 p.
8. Yurko Stepovy. In the Kherson steppes. View. "Culture", Munich, 1947, 129 p. (in Ukrainian).
9. S. Golyash. Singing book of rebel songs. 1947, 44 p. (in Ukrainian).
10. Song is my life. Ukrainian folk songs in the voice of Annie Opryshko. Uzhgorod, TDV "Patent", 2013. 620 p.
11. “Lecture hall. Music." Issue 10. Radyansky marches.
12. V. Shenderovich. About the assigned lyrics of famous songs.
13. Alexander Adolfovich Bode. Wikipedia article
14. Zinaida Kolesnikova, nee Bode. Correspondence with Literaturnaya Gazeta.
15. E.M. Levashev. The fate of the song // Heritage Archive - 2000 / Comp. and scientific ed. Pluzhnikov V.I.; RAS. Russian Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage named after D.S. Likhachev. - M.: Heritage Institute, 2001. - P. 305-330.
16. A. Malgin. The most Soviet of poets // Capital, No. 6, 1991. - P. 34-37.
17. V. Shevchenko. “A Sacred War” - an echo of two eras // Nezavisimaya Gazeta, May 8, 1998.
18. A. Chernov."A Sacred War" by Alexander Bode. Email publication. InWerden, 2019, 40 p.
19. A. Barinov. Bard of the Stalin era. 105 years since the birth of Vasily Lebedev-Kumach // Arguments and Facts No. 15(27), August 8, 2003.
20. I. Pavlova. The radiance of the Slav: Interview with Yu. Biryukov. Archived copy from December 2, 2008 on the Wayback Machine // Tomorrow. No. 19(755), May 7, 2008.
21. Refutation. Archive copy dated April 1, 2015 on the Wayback Machine. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 5, 2000.
Cover image: Sculpture "The Motherland is Calling!" from Volgograd Photos
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