Литовский национальный гимн: История и значение

National anthem of Lithuania

"italic=no" (; literally "The National Hymn") is the national anthem of Lithuania, also known by its opening words, "italic=no" (official translation of the lyrics: ("The National Anthem of Lithuania"). The music and lyrics were written in 1898 by Vincas Kudirka, when Lithuania was still part of the Russian Empire. The fifty word poem was a condensation of Kudirka's conceptions of the Lithuanian state, the Lithuanian people, and their past. Shortly before his death in 1899, the anthem was performed for Lithuanians living in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The first public Lithuanian performance of the anthem took place in Vilnius in 1905, and it became the official national anthem in 1919, a year after Lithuania declared its independence. "Tautiška giesmė" was reinstated in 1989 shortly before the reestablishment of Lithuanian independence and confirmed in the National Anthem Act (21 October 1991). It was automatically included as the national anthem in 1992, when the new Constitution was ratified after independence from the Soviet Union was achieved. The status of "Tautiška giesmė" as the national anthem of Lithuania was further confirmed in 1999 with the passage of a national law stating this.

At the time when the poem Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų was written, Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. Kudirka, a medical student at the University of Warsaw, was writing as a columnist for the newspaper Varpas (The Bell). In his Varpas columns, Kudirka urged Lithuanians to take pride in their heritage, discussed the problems the Russian Government was causing the Lithuanian population, and denounced those who wished to work for the Tsarist autocracy. In the course of writing for Varpas, he wrote down his thoughts on what Lithuania was and what it should be, resulting in the fifty word poem Lietuva, Tėvynė mūsų ("Lithuania, Our Homeland"). The poem described the heroic past of Lithuania and exhorted its people to care for the land, care for humanity, and live in honor. Kudirka also urged the country to become a source of enlightenment and virtue. Without a melody, Kudirka took the time to compose the music just before dying of tuberculosis. Both the melody and the lyrics were printed in Varpas in September 1898. Upon his death in 1899, Kudirka's tomb was engraved with the second stanza of the anthem (later destroyed by the authorities).

Before Kudirka's death, the first performance of the poem occurred at a concert in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1899. The concert was conducted by Česlovas Sasnauskas and was attended by Lithuanians, which St. Petersburg had the largest population of at that time. The anthem was first performed in Lithuania during the Great Seimas of Vilnius on December 3, 1905.

When Lithuania declared its independence from Russia in 1918, the song was declared the national anthem. It held this status until Lithuania was annexed into the Soviet Union during World War II. During the interwar period, there had been suggestions to modify the words to include a reference to God. It was decided, in Kudirka's memory, that the lyrics should remain as he had written them. Also, the national anthem received criticism over melody.

From May 9th to 12th, 1942, the Marijampolė Commissariat took 580 young men as labour for the German Army Transportation Service. At the barracks, about 3000 4000 appeared, about two thirds of women and girls, and began to shout out: "We are not Germans, do not go to the front." At that time, about 70% of the troops returned to the barracks yard to support the demonstration as well as students from the Marijampole Teachers Seminary and the Marijamploe Gymnasium. The demonstrators sang Lithuanian liberation songs and Tautiška Giesmė. When threatened with a fight by several insufficiently armed local commando soldiers, the protest turned violent with members of the crowd breaking some windows. Finally, the crowd gathered on the street to walk to the city. In that direction, the soldiers of the Wehrmacht stoned the truck. While singing the national anthem, the Lithuanian policemen paid homage, and weighed on two of them. The soldiers of the 1st Police Battalion in the Marijampolė were completely passive, with regard, to the crowd.

Immediately following the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the government of the Lithuanian SSR published a new constitution, the Stalinist Constitution of the Lithuanian SSR, that regulates the usage of the new flag and the new coat of arms as a symbol of the socialist identity. However, in this constitution, there was no regulations on a regional anthem for the Lithuanian SSR. According to Soviet custom, all of the republics of the Soviet Union had the "Internationale" translated into their own language as regional anthems. The officially introduced "Internationale" in Lithuania was unpopular and the majority of the population of Lithuania disliked it as most Lithuanians then still remembered the "Tautiška giesmė" as being their actual national anthem. This was particularly evident when the authorities gathered all of the teachers in 14–15 August 1940 at the Lithuanian Teachers' Congress in Kaunas. The congress was attended by more than 10,000 primary and secondary school teachers and high school lecturers. Of all the speakers, only the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Vincas Krėvė Mickevičius, reminded the audience of the Lithuanian national anthem, concluding his speech: "Light and truth all along, guide our steps forever." At the end of the congress the orchestra bagan playing the Internationale. A teacher began to sing the Tautiška Giesmė. Other teachers joined in singing the anthem, and shortly all of the teachers that attended the congress sang along, thus publicly testifying about "their determination to serve their homeland, but not the occupier". Inspired by them, the orchestra followed them standing.

The issue about the anthem was raised again after the re occupation of the Baltic States, after Lithuania re joined the USSR as the Lithuanian SSR. A new anthem of the USSR was made, and the lyrics of the anthem were translated to the languages of the USSR republics. The original plan was to use the translated anthem as the temporary anthem, until a new, more socialist anthem was made. During the translation process, Antanas Venclova as the translator, have some worries on the lyrics. The lyrics mentioned Великая Русь , which he translated to Didžiosios Rusios. He feared that the part of the lyrics would be badly accepted in Lithuania, because the lyrics shows superiority of the Russian nation in Lithuania, and the spirit of the national revival that passed away after the occupation of Lithuania. The translation of the anthem itself was submitted on 5 January 1944. The translation of the anthem was approved on 7 January 1944. With the offer from the USSR government, the question of the Lithuanian anthem was re discussed. The first proposal of the anthem was the song "Mes su Stalinu" , which was proposed by G. Alexandrov to Kazys Preikšas. Other proposals proposed by G. Alexandrov was Tautiška giesmė, and other popular songs, including a poem by Petras Vaičiūnas "Ei, pasauli, mes be Vilniaus nenurimsime".

Even though Tautiška giesmė was used as the national anthem of the Lithuanian SSR for 6 years, the anthem ended up being banned in the Lithuanian SSR after the introduction and the approvement as the new anthem. During this period, the Lithuanian Tautiška giesmė became a symbol of national resistance to the Soviet Union. The anthem was often sung at various festivities in families and in small gatherings of trusted people.

On 6 October 1988, Tautiška giesmė was approved as a replacement for the State Anthem of the Lithuanian SSR. The preliminary approval was made by the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR and successive legislative bodies.

The status of Tautiška giesmė as the national anthem of the Lithuanian Republic was reconfirmed in 1992. In that year, the Constitution of Lithuania was approved; Article 19 of the document states that Tautiška giesmė will be the national anthem of Lithuania. The last law in relation to the national anthem was passed in 1999; it contained the official lyrics and protocol on how and when to play the anthem.