In 1833, Prince Alexei Fedorovich Lvov accompanied Nicholas I during his visit to Austria and Prussia, where the emperor was greeted everywhere by the sounds of the English march. The Tsar listened to the melody of monarchical solidarity without enthusiasm. Upon returning to his homeland, the emperor wished that his own Russian march be created. Then a secret competition began to write a new monarchist anthem, in which many Russian composers took part, including the great Mikhail Glinka, but the composer Alexei Lvov, close to the court, won the competition.
The new anthem was first performed on December 18, 1833 (according to other sources - December 25), it existed until the February Revolution of 1917. After the October Revolution, this anthem was erased from the history of the new Soviet state, and the International began to perform it instead...
The anthem of the Russian Empire was called “God Save the Tsar!”, lyrics to music by A.F. Lvov was written by the famous Russian poet V.A. Zhukovsky. There was not a single person in Russia who had never heard or sung the Russian anthem, glorifying the Orthodox Tsar and the Orthodox Autocratic Fatherland; however, this anthem was not just a patriotic march, but also a prayer, which is why it turned out to be so close to the soul of the Russian people .
God save the Tsar!
Strong, sovereign,
Reign for our glory,
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
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God save the Tsar!
The glorious one has long days
Give it to the earth!
Proud to the humbler,
Guardian of the weak,
Comforter of all -
All have descended!
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First-power
Orthodox Rus',
God bless!
Her kingdom is harmonious,
Calm in strength,
Still unworthy
Get away!
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O providence,
Blessing
It was sent down to us!
Striving for good
In happiness there is humility,
Patience in sorrow
Give it to the earth!
On November 23, 1833, the anthem was first presented to the tsar - for which the royal family and their retinue specially arrived at the Singing Chapel, where the court singers with two military bands performed the anthem in front of them. Thanks to the sublime, choral melody, the anthem sounded extremely powerful. The tsar really liked the melody, which he listened to several times, and he ordered to “show” the anthem to the general public.
Performance of the hymn “God Save the Tsar”
On December 11, 1833, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the orchestra and the entire theater troupe took part in the performance of “Russian Folk Song” ( This is how the hymn “God Save the Tsar” was named in the poster.). The next day, rave reviews appeared in the newspapers. This is what the director of the Moscow Imperial Theaters M.P. says about the historical premiere. Zagoskin: “At first the words were sung by one of the actors, Bantyshev, then repeated by the whole choir. I cannot describe to you the impression that this national song made on the audience; all the men and ladies listened to her standing; first “hurray” and then “foro” thundered in the theater when it was sung. Of course, it was repeated..."
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On December 25, 1833, on the anniversary of the expulsion of Napoleon's troops from Russia, the anthem was performed in the halls of the Winter Palace during the consecration of banners and in the presence of high military officials. On December 31 of the outgoing year, the commander of the Separate Guards Corps, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, gave the order: “The Emperor was pleased to express his permission to play newly composed music at parades, reviews, divorces and other occasions, instead of the currently used anthem, taken from national English.”
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On August 30, 1834, a monument, the Alexander Pillar, was opened on Palace Square in St. Petersburg in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812. The grand opening of the monument was accompanied by a parade of troops, before which the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” was performed for the first time in an official setting "
Soon the music of the hymn “God Save the Tsar” became famous in Europe.
On May 26, 1883, on the Day of the Ascension of the Lord, the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow took place, coinciding with the Day of the Holy Coronation of Emperor Alexander III to the All-Russian Throne. Then this anthem was performed especially solemnly. P.I. Tchaikovsky - back in 1880, wrote an overture in which the theme of the hymn “God Save the Tsar” sounds in a beautiful harmonic arrangement, and it was performed on the occasion of the consecration of the Temple. In total, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky used the music of the anthem in six of his works.
However, not everyone liked the music of the anthem, for example, the famous critic V.V. Stasov did not like her and made critical remarks about her. M.I. also expressed some disapproval of the anthem. Glinka, but despite this composer A.F. Lvov forever entered the galaxy of Russian composers, as evidenced, in particular, by the painting by I.E. Repin, hanging on the landing of the stairs at the Moscow Conservatory. The painting is called “Slavic Composers”, and in it, along with Glinka, Chopin, Rimsky-Korsakov and others, the author of the official Russian anthem A.F. is depicted in an embroidered court uniform. Lviv.
Painting by I. Repin “Slavic Composers”
After the overthrow of the tsarist regime, covered by the imaginary abdication of Tsar Nicholas II from the throne and the subsequent murder of the royal family by the Bolsheviks, glorifying the royal person with a “folk song” became impossible. The new interim government almost immediately made attempts to create its own Russian anthem. Then the Russian poet V.Ya. In March 1917, Bryusov wrote an article “On the New Russian Anthem,” in which he expressed the idea of the need to organize an all-Russian competition to write the anthem of New Russia and proposed several options for an approach to writing the music and words of this work.
He wrote: “We need a short song that, by the power of sounds, the magic of art, would immediately unite those gathered in one impulse, would immediately set everyone in one high mood”... Bryusov emphasized that the “spirit of the people”, usually characteristic of the national anthems of countries with a “uniform ” by the population, must be expressed differently in multinational Russia. According to Bryusov, the anthem cannot be “Great Russian”. He also cannot draw pathos from the Orthodox religion due to the diversity of faiths in the country. Finally, the anthem should not divide the population by class, nationality, etc. - it should sound for everyone who considers Russia their Motherland. In the verses of the anthem, as V.Ya. believed. Bryusov, should be reflected: military glory, the size of the country, the heroic past and the exploits of the people. The pathos of the words of the anthem should correspond to the pathos of the melody and contain ideas: the brotherhood of the peoples inhabiting Russia, their meaningful work for the common good, the memory of the best people of our native history, those noble endeavors that will open the way for Russia to true greatness... “In addition,” the poet wrote , - the anthem must be an artistic creation, genuine, inspired poetry; the other is unnecessary and useless. External form - the anthem must be a song..."
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Following Bryusov, many other proposals were made regarding a new anthem.
At first, the orchestras performed the classic French version of “La Marseillaise,” while the Russian “Workers’ Marseillaise” was sung to the words of P. Lavrov. Meanwhile, at rallies and meetings, the socialist anthem “Internationale” began to be heard more and more often. In January 1918, the Internationale was approved by the Council of People's Commissars as the country's anthem and began to be sung by the people, but it was no longer a song-prayer; rather, on the contrary, it was the song of rebels who had risen to the previous order of life, ready to demolish and destroy everything, in the hope build your own world on the ruins of the old world. It remains only to add that according to Holy Scripture, “those branded with a curse” are demons, but people can also brand themselves with the curse of the Almighty if they rebel against God and begin to collaborate with demons. Here is the first verse of the international, compare it with the prayer hymn “God Save the Tsar”:
Arise, branded with a curse,
The whole world is hungry and slaves!
Our indignant mind is boiling
And ready to fight to the death.
We will destroy the whole world of violence
Down to the ground and then
We are ours, we will build a new world:
He who was nothing will become everything!
So, the new version of the Russian anthem:
God save the Tsar!
Strong, Sovereign,
Reign with glory
To our glory!
Reign to the fear of your enemies,
Orthodox Tsar,
God, the Tsar, save the Tsar!
The bill also contains notes, but I will not cite them. The music is assumed to be primordial, divinely sanctified from 1834 to 1917.
The explanatory note explains to the surprised reader the rules of life for LDPR deputies, the patriotic spirit and national pride. It talks about the centuries-old history of the Fatherland, the enormous value and worldview (it’s impossible to say more accurately) significance of state symbols and their special role in uniting people.
Here's another quote: " Despite the fact that the modern anthem is deeply respected by many Russians, it is the imperial anthem that represents pride in glorious victories and symbolizes a great country with a great history. The approval of the new national anthem will allow us to achieve historical continuity, honor and remember more than a thousand years of Russian history, which includes both the monarchical and Soviet periods."
What kind of historical continuity the authors of the anthem want to achieve is not entirely clear to me, but this is not as important as something completely different - excuse me, but who is our king? The question of enthronement has already been raised, it was asked to Peskov, to which Putin’s press secretary gave a very clear answer - no, not Tsar Vladimir Vladimirovich, but the President of Russia. That is, not Putin. Then who? Under whom are the LDPR deputies laying soft straw? And doesn’t Zhirinovsky have roots from the House of Romanov?
However, one more thing is confusing. " Orthodox Tsar". There are no official statistics on religious affiliation in Russia, but there are serious assumptions that the number of non-Orthodox people is systematically approaching 10% of the population. That is, about 12-14 million people will experience slight (?) tension while singing the anthem in honor of the Orthodox Tsar. For The residents of Chechnya and Dagestan, Tatarstan and Bashkiria, Buryatia and Ingushetia will instantly become a feature of the anthem. This anthem will not only divide the country into “ours” and “not ours,” but will also seriously undermine the spiritual bonds that have been so actively promoted lately.
If it were possible to save and then start the game again, I would accept this anthem in order to at least once watch its performance, say, at the FC Terek stadium in Grozny. By the way, if it were possible to survive, Zhirik could be elected president.
The National Anthem is not just a musical and poetic work performed on special occasions. National anthems, according to W. Wundt, most accurately reflect the character of a nation. The anthem is a symbol of the state, reflecting the worldview and spiritual mood of society.
The anthem is a brief statement of the national and sovereign idea of the people. The creation of the Russian anthem in 1833 was by no means accidental. XVIII - first half of the XIX century. - the time of formation, geographical expansion and political strengthening of the Russian Empire. On March 21, 1833, the newly appointed new Minister of Public Education S.S. Uvarov first promulgated in his circular the formula “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality,” which later became famous, as an expression of the new official ideology, which was approved by the emperor and was to form the basis of all state policy.
For the first time, Russia acquired a large-scale, holistic ideological doctrine, a concept of the existence of a state and a nation. The new Russian anthem was intended to be an effective expression of this new doctrine. From the point of view of state ideology, it seemed to draw a line under an entire historical period and open a new stage in the development of Russia as a self-sufficient great power that no longer needed someone else’s anthem.
The anthem can be considered, perhaps, the most “subjective” of the national-state symbols adopted in modern times, because when creating it, it is not possible to rely on the data of special science, as in the formation of a coat of arms and flag, where the laws of heraldry and vexillology dictate certain rules even to the most restless innovators.
Therefore, the task set by the Emperor was very, very difficult. Every musician should understand what the main difficulty of the task was: a melody of this kind must satisfy conditions that are almost opposite: to be original, but at the same time refined; to be musical - and capable of being performed by large crowds, and at the same time, to contain such a simple, one might say, unartificial sequence of sounds so that they are conveniently etched in the memory, and so that every commoner can repeat them without difficulty. So, the artistic struggle continued for several weeks, and then, suddenly - as almost always happens in such cases - according to an unknown psychological process called the moment of inspiration, the melody of the hymn was formed in the soul of the composer at once, completely, and in the same form as it still exists today.
Then A.F. Lvov turned to V.A. Zhukovsky with a request to write words for the finished music. Zhukovsky provided practically already existing words, “fitting” them to the melody. This is how the masterpiece of Zhukovsky - Lvov appeared. The genius of the Lviv find lay in the simplicity of the form and the power of the idea. The Russian anthem was the shortest in the world. Only 6 lines of text and 16 bars of melody easily sank into the soul, were easily remembered by absolutely everyone and were designed for verse repetition - three times. The official text originally consisted of only 6 lines:
- however, thanks to the sublime, choral melody, it sounded exceptionally powerful.As soon as Lvov reported that the anthem had been written, the Emperor wished to listen to him immediately. After several preparatory rehearsals, on November 23, 1833, the first performance of the anthem was scheduled for a full choir of court music with two military music orchestras - trumpet and wooden instruments. It was like a trial run.
The emperor and his wife, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, as well as a number of the highest dignitaries of the empire and representatives of the clergy were present. Upon entering their hall, the solemn sounds of the Russian folk anthem being performed for the first time resounded. Having listened to it several times, sometimes performed only by a choir of singers, sometimes by an orchestra of this or that music, and, finally, by the whole mass of both, the august listeners enthusiastically accepted this truly artistic work of Lvov. After listening to the new anthem, the emperor approached A.F. Lvov, hugged him, kissed him deeply, and said: “Thank you, thank you, wonderful; you completely understood me.” Another eyewitness to the execution recorded almost the same words of the emperor: “It couldn’t be better, you completely understood me.” The Emperor, repeating several times: "C" est superbe! 1833 The deeply moved sovereign granted A.F. Lvov a gold snuffbox studded with diamonds with his own portrait.
The first public performance of the National Anthem took place in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater on December 6, 1833. The orchestra and the entire theater troupe took part in the performance of the “Russian Folk Song” (as the anthem “God Save the Tsar” was called on the playbill). The next day, rave reviews appeared in the newspapers. This is what the director of the Moscow Imperial Theaters M.P. says about the historical premiere. Zagoskin: “At first the words were sung by one of the actors Bantyshev, then repeated by the whole choir. I can’t describe to you the impression that this national song made on the audience; all the men and ladies listened to it standing; first “hurray” and then “foro” thundered in the theater, when they sang it. Of course, it was repeated..."
This is how one Moscow eyewitness describes this memorable theatrical evening:
“I am returning now from the Bolshoi Theater, delighted and touched by what I saw and heard. Everyone knows Zhukovsky’s Russian folk song “God Save the Tsar!” Lvov composed music to these words.
As soon as the words of the chant “God Save the Tsar!” were heard, all three thousand spectators who filled the theater rose from their seats, following the representatives of the nobility, and remained in this position until the end of the singing.
The picture was extraordinary; the silence that reigned in the huge building breathed majesty, the words and music so deeply affected the feelings of all those present that many of them shed tears from excess excitement.
Everyone was silent during the singing of the new anthem; it was only clear that everyone was holding back their feelings in the depths of their souls; but when the theater orchestra, choirs, regimental musicians numbering up to 500 people began to repeat together the precious vow of all Russians, when they prayed to the Heavenly King for earthly things, I could no longer restrain the noisy delight; The applause of the admiring spectators and the cries of “Hurray!”, mingling with the choir, orchestra and the brass music that was on stage, produced a roar that seemed to vibrate the very walls of the theater. These animated delights of Muscovites devoted to their sovereign only stopped when, at the unanimous universal demand of the audience, the people's prayer was repeated several times. For a long, long time this day in December 1833 will remain in the memory of all residents of Belokamennaya!”
Enthusiastic reviews filled the newspapers of those days, and a description of the performance soon reached St. Petersburg.
The anthem was performed a second time on December 25, 1833 [ January 6, 1834 according to the new style], on the day of the Nativity of Christ and the anniversary of the expulsion of Napoleon’s troops from Russia, in all halls of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg during the consecration of banners and in the presence of high military ranks. This day is rightfully Happy birthday to the first truly national Russian State Anthem. On December 31 of the outgoing year, the commander of the Separate Guards Corps, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, gave the order: “The Emperor was pleased to express his permission to play newly composed music at parades, reviews, divorces and other occasions, instead of the currently used anthem, taken from national English.”
“Dear friend,” Count Benckendorf wrote to A.F. Lvov, “Your magnificent composition has been performed. It would be impossible to present it more worthy than on this day of glory and happiness for the entire Christian world. The Emperor is fascinated by your work. He instructed me to tell you , that the Prince of Orange was delighted with him and that you should personally take the notes and words to him (the Prince), since he wants to get to know you.”
On August 30, 1834, a monument - the Alexander Column - was opened on Palace Square in St. Petersburg in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812. The grand opening of the monument was accompanied by a parade of troops, before which the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” was performed for the first time in such an official setting.
From that day on, the “Russian folk song,” as Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich liked to call the Russian anthem, began its independent life and was performed on any suitable occasion. The anthem was subject to mandatory performance at all parades, at parades, during the consecration of banners, at morning and evening prayers of the Russian army, meetings of the imperial couple with troops, during the taking of the oath, as well as in civilian educational institutions. The anthem was sung when the emperor met at balls, at official entrances into cities and at ceremonial feasts after toasts to the emperor. The music of the hymn “God Save the Tsar” quickly became known in Europe. The musical theme of the anthem varies in several works by German and Austrian composers. In Russia P.I. Tchaikovsky “quotes” it in two musical works - “Slavic March” and the “1812” overture, written in 1880 and performed on the occasion of the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow (in total, Tchaikovsky used the music of the hymn in six of his works). A.F. Lvov truly forever entered the galaxy of Russian composers, as evidenced, in particular, by the painting by I.E. Repin, hanging on the landing of the stairs at the Moscow Conservatory. The painting is called “Slavic Composers”, and on it, together with Glinka, Chopin, Rimsky-Korsakov and others, A.F. is depicted in an embroidered court uniform. Lviv.
Speaking about the hymn “God Save the Tsar,” we cannot, of course, fail to talk about the meaning of its words. Zhukovsky, as the author of the text of the national anthem, of course, was not simply a “subtextualizer” of other people's ideas or other people's music (even if the creation of music preceded the creation of words). Here we are dealing with a happy combination of the lyrical mood of a great poet, popular sentiment and the interests of state power.
In the eyes of the Russian people, the Tsar was a sacred national symbol, embodying the idea of independence and greatness of the country. The Tsar, after God, was considered the first guardian of the Russian land, the defender of the “common” people and Orthodoxy, the “savior of faith and kingdom,” the highest ideal and focus of “Holy Rus'.” Through understanding the role of the Sovereign, who embodies the aspirations of the people, in the new text of the Russian anthem, the role of the Autocrat as an exponent of the will of God emerges more clearly. Anthem 1833 concentrated specifically on the idea of autocracy. In the text of the anthem, the semantic core is the idea of royal power, continuing the ancient idea of paternal Autocracy. It is not without reason that in the article “On the Incidents of 1848” Zhukovsky connects the monarchical state with family and home. He writes about the European peoples who rejected monarchical power: “I looked at them as orphans, without a name, without a family, gathered under one shelter roof, which is not a fatherly home for them,” and further reflects “on his great family , about our Russia,” where “reverence for the shrine of sovereign power” has been preserved.
Comparison of the texts of “Russian Prayer” (1814) and the hymn “God Save the Tsar!” (1833) clearly reveals a difference in emphasis leading ultimately to a conceptual difference.
All epithets in the text (“strong”, “sovereign”, “Orthodox”) are not emotional characteristics, but references to the essence of royal power. Glory, victoriousness, as well as generosity and humanity are the constant and unchanging characteristics of the Russian Tsar. Strength, power, charisma of power, glory and “fear of enemies” are now associated with the idea of the King and his great service. The epithet “Orthodox,” which also appeared in “Prayer,” receives an additional connotation in the hymn. In the hymn, the halo of the epithet “Orthodox” changes from the fact that it is related to another word - “Orthodox Tsar.” Here the epithet becomes a designation of the Tsar, as the keeper of the faith professed by his country.
At the same time, the anthem, in which the primacy of the spiritual over the secular remained a fundamental point, is becoming more and more universal, reflecting the ideal of the state structure of Russia as a whole. The anthem “God Save the Tsar” is a kind of “short” set of basic state laws of the Russian Empire, expressing in just six lines the essence of the primordial Russian sovereignty.
With all this, the anthem did not become a dry declaration. The words of the anthem, so that they could evoke a lasting response in the hearts of those on whose behalf they were written, should not have sounded official, they should have had a lyrical note. What was needed was sincere enthusiasm and poetic inspiration. According to the author, the anthem is an outpouring of feeling, which is designed for sympathy, i.e. to the sensitive soul. The best confirmation of this is Zhukovsky’s words about his own perception of his work: “The words of our folk song, God Save the Tsar, resonated deeply, deeply in my soul!” In the words of Zhukovsky himself: “A folk song is a wonderful native voice, expressing everything together; in it one can hear a combined harmonic greeting from all the same-earth people who lived before to those living now, when the folk word sounds for you: God save the Tsar! all your Russia, with its past days of glory, with its present power, with its sacred future, will appear before you in the person of your sovereign."
Shortly before the death of V.A. Zhukovsky wrote to A.F. Lvov: “Our joint double work will outlive us for a long time. A folk song, once heard, having received the right of citizenship, will remain alive forever as long as the people who appropriated it live. Of all my poems, these humble five6, thanks to your music, will outlive all the brothers Where have I not heard this singing? In Perm, in Tobolsk, at the foot of Chatyrdag, in Stockholm, in London, in Rome!
So, one hundred and seventy-five years ago, Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky and Alexey Fedorovich Lvov, whose family coats of arms were in 1848. The motto “God Save the Tsar” was introduced; correctly capturing the feelings of the people, they managed to create a beautiful example of prayer chants and one of the best national anthems in the world.
