Ukraine National Anthem

Ще не вмерла України

Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy

Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished

Written 1863

Adopted 2003

Lyrics Pavlo Chubynsky

Music Mykhailo Verbytsky

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Key Facts

1. Its 'not yet died' opening echoes the Polish anthem, 'Poland Is Not Yet Lost', which scholars believe influenced Chubynsky; the refrain of Israel's Hatikvah, 'Our hope is not yet lost', is often compared to both
2. Ukraine marks State Anthem Day on 10 March, the anniversary of an 1865 performance of the song in Przemyśl at a concert commemorating Taras Shevchenko
3. The 2003 law reworded the opening line: instead of 'Ukraine has not yet died' (Shche ne vmerla Ukraina), it now says that Ukraine's glory and freedom have not yet died (Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia)

Ukraine National Anthem Lyrics

Officially, only the first verse and refrain are used.

Ще не вмерла України і слава, і воля, Ще нам, браття молодії, усміхнеться доля. Згинуть наші воріженьки, як роса на сонці. Запануєм і ми, браття, у своїй сторонці. Душу й тіло ми положим за нашу свободу, І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду.

Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals

Analysis

Editorial

Pavlo Chubynsky, an ethnographer, wrote the poem in Kyiv in the autumn of 1862; in 1863 it was published in the Lviv journal Meta, and Mykhailo Verbytsky, a Greek Catholic priest, set it to music. In 1917-1921 the song served as the anthem of the Ukrainian People's Republic. After independence, a resolution of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada adopted Verbytsky's music as the State Anthem on 15 January 1992, and Law No. 602-IV of 6 March 2003 set its words: the first verse and chorus of Chubynsky's poem, slightly revised.