"" ( bg, Мила Родино, ; "Dear Motherland") is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. It was composed and written by

Tsvetan Radoslavov Tsvetan Radoslavov Hadzhidenkov ( bg, Цветан Радославов Хаджиденков; 1863 – 1931) was a Bulgarian teacher and the author of the current national anthem of Bulgaria, ''Mila Rodino''. Born in Svishtov in 1863, he gradua ...

as he left to fight in the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

in 1885. The anthem was adopted in 1964. The text has been changed many times, most recently in 1990. On 12 July 1991 the anthem was shortened to its first verse along with the chorus. Between 1886 and 1947, the Bulgarian national anthem was "

Shumi Maritsa "Shumi Maritsa" ( bg, Шуми Марица, ) was the Bulgarian national anthem from 1886 until 1947. The music was derived from the German folk song "Wenn die Soldaten durch die Stadt marschieren" that was very popular in Bulgaria in the mid-19th ...

"; from 1951 to 1964, it was " Balgariyo mila, zemya na geroi"; in the brief period between these two, it was the march " Republiko nasha, zdravey!".

History

Creation

The song was created by the composer

in 1885 after his participation in the

. He was inspired to create the song based on his poems when he saw Serbian students singing their own patriotic song on their journey home. It was first printed in 1895 in Part I of "Music Textbook" by K. Mahan.

Adoption as the national anthem

In the 1960s after the

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...

process, the poet Georgi Dzhagarov began an effort to replace the previous anthem, which include references to

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

and because the lyrics of the anthem were similar to the anthem of the Soviet Union. After discussing with

Todor Zhivkov Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( bg, Тодор Христов Живков ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 ...

, the

General Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party This is a list of the Head of state, heads of the modern Bulgarian state, from the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria to the present day. It also lists the General Secretary, general secretaries of the Bulgarian Communist Party in 19 ...

, Zhivkov accepted the idea, and soon, by the Order No.1093, on 29 March 1962, the Council of Ministers held a competition for the lyrics and the music for the new anthem, with the deadline for the submission of lyrics on 1 May 1963 and the music on 1 November 1963. The committee for the new anthem was selected by Zhivkov himself. The lyrics for the new anthem were finalized on 1 September 1963, and the music was finalized on 1 March 1964. The Council of Ministers also drew up a panel of experts to look at the projects submitted in advance and to put the best of the proposals to discussion amongst the committee. After the proposals for the lyrics and the music were submitted, the committee was not satisfied, so they accepted the advice of Georgi Dzhagarov to use "Mila Rodino" as the music for the new anthem. The duty of composing lyrics was assigned to Georgi Dzhagarov and Dmitry Metodiev, while the melody of the anthem was revised with further harmonization by Philip Kutev and Alexander Raichev. Under Zhivkov's orders, Georgi Dzhagarov and Dimitar Metodiev were resided in the

Vrana Palace Vrana Palace ( bg, Дворец "Врана", translit=Dvorets "Vrana"; formerly ; ) is a former royal palace, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is today the official residence of former royal family of Bulgaria. While the ...

to compose the text of Mila Rodino. During the composition of the lyrics, Georgi Dzhagarov was not particularly proud of his creation. He preferred the anthem without the mentions of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and the leadership of the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...

in the third verse of the anthem. An alternate version of the third verse can be found in Dzhagarov's manuscript : :' (''Together, Bulgarian brothers!'') :' (''New pinnacles shine,'') :' (''The flag flies above us'') :' (''and calls us to heroic deeds.'') The final composition of the lyrics consisted of the original first verse and the chorus of the anthem by Tsvetan Radoslavov, and the new two verses, which the second verse has references to the fight for the independence of Bulgaria and the fight against fascism in World War 2, and the third verse has references to the Soviet Union/

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

, and the Communist Party of Bulgaria. On 8 September 1964 "Mila Rodino" was finally affirmed by the Presidium of the National Assembly, with the Decree No. 534, as the national anthem of Bulgaria. The first performance of the song as the national anthem of Bulgaria took place on 9 September 1964, the 20th anniversary of the Socialist Revolution of 9 September.

Criticism

In 1964, before the affirmation of "Mila Rodino" as the national anthem, the decision met resistance from

Petko Staynov Petko Staynov (Bulgarian: Петко Стайнов; December 1, 1896 in Kazanlak – June 25, 1977) was a Bulgarian composer and pianist. He enriched the Bulgarian musical culture and contributed considerably to its development. A composer of gr ...

. Staynov argued that the melody is of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

origin and this makes the song not suitable for being the anthem of Bulgaria. Dobri Hristov counters the argument, stating that there are hundreds of melodies in Bulgarian songs which are borrowed from other people and thus became an integral part of the Bulgarian musical heritage. This statement led Staynov being removed from the committee for the new anthem by Todor Zhivkov.

Proposals for a new anthem

During the discussion for the new constitution of Bulgaria in the 7th Grand National Assembly, there are some proposals submitted for a new anthem. The proposals include "Shumi Maritsa"—the Bulgarian national anthem from 1886 to 1947, and "Varvi, narode vazrodeni"—the anthem of the Bulgarian education. The most recent one was the petition by writer Nikola Indzhov to change the anthem of Bulgaria to "Vărvi, narode văzrodeni".

Regulation on the anthem

Current regulation

According to the Institutional Identity of the Administration of the State of Bulgaria, there are two versions of the anthem, the full and the abridged version.

Official version of the anthem

* The official version of the anthem in an instrumental rendition for wind orchestra is performed by the Brass Orchestra of the National Guard. * The official version of the anthem in an instrumental rendition for symphony orchestra is performed by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra. * The official version of the anthem in a vocal version is performed by the Mixed Choir of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Performances of the anthem

The anthem is to be played at the following occasions: * celebration of the Liberation Day on 3 March * on public holidays, celebrating historical events and personalities * ceremonies for raising the flag of the Republic of Bulgaria * state and official visits * ceremonies for offering a wreath to the monument of the Unknown Soldier * diplomatic ceremonies * military ceremonies * other official events of national importance * on the initiative of the state authorities * local celebrations with a decision of the Municipal Council The abridged version of the anthem can be played at the following occasions: * on cultural and sporting events * on the occasion of the opening of the school year The anthem of the Republic of Bulgaria can only be performed once a day, on the same ceremony.

Bans on the usage of the anthem

The anthem of the Republic of Bulgaria can not be used in advertising, with the exception of national campaigns taken by state authorities. The anthem can not be used as part of another melody or song, to be performed in remixed variants with text other than the legally established by means of musical instruments that create a humorous sound, with pauses, interruptions or extensions of the tones, which change the original sound.

Original regulation

The first regulation on the anthem came from the Decree No. 534 "On the approval of the text and the music of the national anthem of the People's Republic of Bulgaria", which was published on 8 September 1964.

Lyrics

Modern lyrics

The anthem currently officially consists of the first verse and chorus. During

communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

, two additional verses (II and III) were added that referred to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(under direct instructions of

) and the

, as well as the fallen fighters for Bulgaria through the years. After the changes in 1989, this part of the anthem was removed and forbidden to be performed.

Original lyrics

File:Kom stara planina pano.jpg, Proud Balkan Mountains… File:Danube at belene.jpg, … next to them the Danube sparkles… File:Karandila2.jpg, … the sun shines over Thrace… File:Todorka peak red.jpg, … and blazes over Pirin.

Other versions

Another version of the lyrics was published by composer

Dobri Hristov Dobri Hristov ( bg, Добри Христов; 14 December 1875 – 23 January 1941) was one of the major Bulgarian composers of the 20th century. He wrote mainly choral music, as well as some church music and music for the orchestra. Hristov w ...

. It was published in the ''Rodina'' collection, by the Publishing of the Bulgarian-Mohammedian Cultural and Enlightenment Friendship, in the town of

Smolyan Smolyan ( bg, Смолян) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Smolyan Province. The town is built ...

In popular culture

In October 2017, a

Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...

or reported an incident where

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer questio ...

thought the national anthem of Bulgaria was

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

's single "

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...

". This bug was fixed afterwards.

Sheet Music

Mila Rodino - 1937 or 1938, music sheet.jpg, The sheet music of the alternate lyrics by Dobri Hristov. Mila Rodino (1964 version, vocal sheet music).jpg, Vocal sheet music Mila Rodino (1964 version, instrumental).png, Instrumental sheet music Мила Родино.svg, Vectorized sheet music

Notes

References

External links

President of the Republic of Bulgaria
nbsp
archive link
— The President's website has a page on the national symbols of Bulgaria, including a vocal version of the anthem.
Government of Bulgaria
nbsp;— The Government website also has a National Symbols page, with an instrumental version of the anthem.
Bulgaria: ''Mila Rodino'' - Audio of the national anthem of Bulgaria, with information and lyricsarchive link
{{Authority control Bulgarian patriotic songs European anthems National symbols of Bulgaria National anthem compositions in A minor National anthem compositions in C major