How the Soviet government recreated the Lithuanian anthem and why the “National Anthem” was not immediately abandoned | You know?

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The USSR occupied Lithuania in 1940. in June. Already in 1940. In September, the Soviet Constitution of the LSSR entered into force in Lithuania. He officially established the new LSSR coat of arms and flag, and here he said nothing about the national anthem.

This was not uncommon in the USSR: no Soviet republic had its anthem at the time. They all sang the international anthem of the workers “International”, which was also the anthem of the USSR. Lithuania was no exception in this regard.

However, International had no traditions in Lithuania and was unpopular with the country’s population.

It is known that in 1940. At the end of August, the participants of the Lithuanian Teachers Congress, convened in Kaunas in August 2006, sang the “National Anthem”, thus confusing the representatives of the new Lithuanian government who issued the order of the Congress and they didn’t know how to react.

1944 After Lithuania was again occupied by the USSR, the subject of the Lithuanian anthem was resumed. The situation changed due to the fact that in 1944. At the beginning of the 19th century, the International was no longer the anthem of the USSR, but was replaced by the newly created hymn of the USSR.

This hymn was translated into the languages ​​of the allied republics. And the official Lithuanian translation of the USSR anthem was approved by the Soviet Lithuanian government, which withdrew to Russia in 1944. At first, while Lithuania was still occupied by the Germans. The hymn was translated by Antanas Venclova.

However, the supreme government of the USSR also decided that all union republics should have their own hymns.

Allowing the individual republics of the USSR to have their own hymns was part of a policy whereby the USSR sought to give the world the image that the individual Soviet republics had statehood.

The objective was to increase the prestige of the USSR in the international arena. Furthermore, at that time, the first discussions about the creation of the United Nations were taking place, and Stalin hoped that perhaps all the Soviet republics would become separate members of the UN. This was expected to gain more influence in the organization.

As a consequence of the 1944 translations of V. Kudirka’s “National Songs” and other popular songs from the inter-Lithuanian wars to Russian went to Moscow. The election of the Lithuanian anthem had to be approved by the highest commanders of the USSR.

In addition, a historical certificate on the “National Anthem” and another song that claimed to become the LSSR’s anthem were prepared: “We were born Lithuanians” by Jurgis Zauerveinas.

After becoming familiar with the certificate and the translations of both works into Russian, J. Stalin agreed that the “National Anthem” should remain the Lithuanian anthem.

Some Soviet Lithuanian leaders even later said that J. Stalin was fascinated by “the nobility and beauty of the song”.

Since 1944 The National Anthem was broadcast on the Moscow radio as the anthem of one of the fraternal Soviet republics.

1944 In June, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania (LCP) decided that “Lithuania, our homeland”, despite its ties to “bourgeois Lithuania”, would become the anthem of the LSSR.

This was treated as a pragmatic step to make the Soviet government more palatable to Lithuanians. The ruling speaks openly about the possibility of using its popularity and “turning it into a weapon to strengthen Soviet power.”

However, the same resolution stipulated that the hymn “National Anthem” would be only temporary, and when the opportunity arose, a new hymn would be created that would reflect “a new era in the life of the Lithuanian nation.”

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“Soviet Lithuania was created by the people”

The idea that “the old Lithuanian national anthem does not reflect the historical and social changes that took place in Lithuania after the proclamation of Soviet power” was expressed in 1945. at the LCP Central Committee meeting in September. Then it was decided to create a new hymn. A special commission has been established for this purpose.

In Latvia and Estonia, the new Soviet hymns were legalized as early as 1945. The resolution stipulated that the text and music of the new hymn in Lithuania must be presented in 1946. But the process took a long time.

The poet and playwright Juozas Marcinkevičius, who described the history of the Lithuanian national anthem during the Soviet years, believed that this was likely due to the active partisan struggle in Lithuania and fears that changing the national anthem would exacerbate dissatisfaction with the regime.

In creating the anthem, the goal was to combine Soviet universalism and Lithuanian national details. The first versions of the Lithuanian Soviet anthem appeared in 1946. in the spring.

As in article 2018. Historians Vladas Sirutavičius observe in the “cultural bars”, it seems that the authorities of the USSR have given instructions on what should be reflected in the hymn: the friendship of the nations, Lenin and Stalin, a great nation Russian, defense of the fatherland.

Therefore, the different versions of the hymn are often not too different. For example, Alexei Churgin’s version contains the lines “Lenin has paved the way for happiness for us / Stalin is making us glorious for the future”, Vacys Reimer suggested the option “We incorporate Lenin’s aspirations at birth / Stalin will illuminate the life for us “, and a version of Antanas Venclova for the welfare of the earth / We, the people of Lenin-Stalin.”

It is true that there were also ideas that tried to combine Sovietism with antiquity. For example, the variant proposed by Eduardas Mieželaitis started with “Oh, Lithuania! You are made of ancient gray / How oak is strong when cultivated “, and Theophilus Tilvytis suggested the following option:” Our walks are animated by the castles of Gediminas, the hills of Vilnelė, Kęstutis Trakai /

Justas Paleckis suggested leaving the “National Anthem” tune, just writing new words, but this was not accepted.

Finally, the commission was created around 1949-1950. he decided to offer two slightly different versions of A. Venclova’s text.

V. Sirutavičius considers that this may be due to the fact that he clearly defines the territory of Soviet Lithuania, Vilnius mentions: “Where Vilnius is old, where the Baltic Sea / Our cities flourish there, fertile fields” This pleased the LSSR government, who considered his achievement of the fact that the Lithuanian ethnographic lands were united.

LKP Central Committee in 1950 In March, he accepted the proposal, but adjusted the first two lines of the hymn. This is how the lines appeared “The people created Soviet Lithuania / After a long fight for freedom and truth”.

At that time, the hymn had yet to be approved by Moscow, and the hymn of the CPSU Central Committee was criticized: Stalin was not sung correctly, there was too little emphasis on the achievements of the Soviet government.

Therefore, the text has not yet been adjusted. For example, “Tighten the shackles, Break the slavery / The great Russian nation helped us / The friendship of the peoples for the prosperity of the earth / We, the generation of the people of Lenin-Stalin” became “and the power / The friendship of nations is like strong steel. “

1950 In June, the hymn was repeatedly presented to Moscow, after corrections and with the music of Balis Dvarionas already composed. In early July, after the final amendments, Moscow approved it.

Finally, the LSSR anthem was approved by the LSSR AT Presidium in 1950. July 15, in preparation to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Lithuania’s accession to the USSR. Singing the “National Anthem” was prohibited. The Soviet anthem became one of the main accents of the Soviet vacation.

Since then, for almost 40 years, the national anthem has been sung illegally, at the risk of persecution. The Lithuanian anthem was again recognized as a national symbol in 1988. October 6

By the way, the LSSR hymn did not escape the change either. After J. Stalin’s death, the line “Stalin leads us to happiness and power” was changed to “We, the party leads us to happiness and power”.

At the Venclovas Memorial Museum in Vilnius, you can still see Antanas Venclova’s notebook, which shows the manuscripts of his translation of the USSR hymn into Lithuanian.

Prepared according to the Universal Encyclopedia of Lithuania, the article by Juozas Marcinkevičius “The fate of the national anthem after Lithuania’s accession to the Soviet Union” and the article by V. Sirutavičius “Political symbolism in Stalinist Lithuania”, published in 2018. November in the cultural bars.