DeroVolk's Blog

Cleared for Take-Off! The Tupolev 22-M "Backfire" has entered the runway, all the checklists are completed, and this beat starts playing on the background as the airplane goes full throttle through the runway… The “March of Aviators” (also known as "Aviamarch") as accompanied Soviet and Russian pilots since the last century and it is not rare at all to hear it in military parades such as the Victory Day parade as Russian fighters cross the sky. This song also has an interesting story behind, which is related even with Nazi Germany, North Macedonia, and the German Democratic Republic. The melody of this song was composed by Yuli Khait in 1920 and the lyrics were written by Pavel German. It is not clear if German wrote the lyrics at the same time, or he wrote the lyrics after and fitting them with the melody. This is due to the fact that the song was published in 1923, but the composer stated that he composed the song in 1920. During this time, it was known as the “...

From Pinochet to Perón... During the past century, most of South American countries were under the rule of ruthless dictators and polemic presidents who had a great impact on countries societies and culture. However, during these periods of times, by genuine desire or by force to meet the requirements of the cult of personality, many songs and marches were composed to honour those leaders and their political movements. " Songs for the Leader " is a section where we take a look at several songs dedicated to these people or their political movements. Today, we will review a list of the most popular songs of South American countries during those difficult times. Argentina Speaking about Juan Domingo Perón is very controversial. Especially after what the Peronist Party (now Partido Justicialista) has become. Nevertheless, Perón had a great popularity back on the day, and many songs were composed in his honour. However, the main song of the Peronist movement is, without any doub...

Brotherhood... In a recent post in this Blog, I wrote that the national anthems of Paraguay and Uruguay can be considered “brother anthems” due to the fact that the lyrics of both anthems were written by the same person: Francisco Acuña de Figueroa. After an investigation carried out in recent years by César Manuel Barrios (composer, pianist and orchestra conductor), a great discovery was made public. And today, the world can see it in detail! Francisco Acuña de Figueroa After researching through many sources and investigation works in South America and the United States, it was discovered that the lyrics of the national anthem of Uruguay were used with a melody created by Francesco Casale, and which is in fact the melody of the current national anthem of Paraguay (arranged by Remberto Giménez in 1933). According to the story, the President of Uruguay issued a decree on 1837 stating that the music created by Francesco Casale would be used with Figueroa’s lyrics until a new proposa...

My Karelian-Finnish Land... If we speak about the different anthems that were composed in the Soviet Union, we usually remember the Soviet National Anthem, the Ukrainian SSR Anthem, the Byelorussian SSR Anthem, or even the Moldovan SSR Anthem (due to its popularity in recent times). Many recordings of those State Anthems have been posted in YouTube, and we have a full collection of versions from the State Anthems of the Soviet Republics all the way from the Baltic States to Central Asia. However, one mysterious composition remains as unknown territory for people of the “Anthem Community”. The State Anthem of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic has been forgotten in time, and this is its history. The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Republic was founded in 1940 and it was located in the north-western part of the Soviet Union. The foundation of this Union Republic is the result of many years of conflicts, influences, and geopolitical strategies from the Soviet Government due to the key p...

Ștefan Neaga and the Moldovan SSR Anthem The National Anthem of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic is one of the most recurrent topics in the videos of the anthem community members in YouTube. The story that surrounds the anthem composed in 1945 has captivated the minds of people around the world and it revealed, perhaps, one of the biggest mysteries about national anthems in recent history. It all started when members of the “Ștefan Neaga Commission” uploaded a video focusing in the difference between the known vocal and instrumental versions of the Moldovan SSR State Anthem. And you know the rest… Flag of the Moldovan SSR (Shutterstock) The music for the anthem was composed in 1945 by Moldovan composer Ştefan Neaga (1900-1951) and the lyrics were written by Emilian Bucov and Ion Bădărău (who used the pseudonym “Bogdan Istru”). World War II had just ended, and many initiatives were taken by the central committee of the CPSU to celebrate the great victory of the Soviet Union in ...