An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short sacred choral work and still more particularly to a specific form of liturgical music. In this sense, its use began c. 1550 in English-speaking churches; it uses English language words, in contrast to the originally Roman Catholic 'motet' which sets a Latin text.
The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or simply the Soviet flag, was a red banner with two communist symbols displayed in the canton: a gold hammer and sickle topped off by a gold five-point star. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from several sources, but emerged during the Russian Revolution. It has also come to serve as the standard symbol representing communism as a whole, recognized as such in international circles, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Soviet Union's various constituent republics each had their own anthem.
The hammer and sickle is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between agricultural and industrial workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing workers and the sickle representing the peasants.
The "State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus", better known as "My Belarusy", is the national anthem of Belarus. It was originally written in the 1940s and adopted in 1955 for use in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The music of the Byelorussian SSR's regional anthem was composed by Niescier Sakałoŭski and the lyrics were written by Michas Klimkovič. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the music composed by Sakalowski was kept and the lyrics were discarded. New lyrics, which were written by Klimkovič and Uladzimir Karyzna, were adopted by a presidential decree issued on 2 July 2002.
"The Patriotic Song" was the national anthem of Russia from 1991 to 2000. It was previously the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1990 until 1991, when it transformed into the Russian Federation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Unlike most national anthems, it had no official lyrics.
The "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" is the national anthem of Russia. It uses the same melody as the "State Anthem of the Soviet Union", composed by Alexander Alexandrov, and new lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov, who had collaborated with Gabriel El-Registan on the original anthem. From 1944, that earliest version replaced "The Internationale" as a new, more Soviet-centric and Russia-centric Soviet anthem. The same melody, but without any lyrics, was used after 1956. A second version of the lyrics was written by Mikhalkov in 1970 and adopted in 1977, placing less emphasis on World War II and more on the victory of communism, and without mentioning Joseph Stalin by name.
The "State Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original lyrics were written by Sergey Mikhalkov (1913–2009) in collaboration with Gabriyel’ Arkadyevich Ureklyan (1899–1945), and its music was composed by Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946). For a two-decade interval following de-Stalinization, the anthem was performed without lyrics. The second set of lyrics, also written by Mikhalkov and in which Stalin's name was omitted, was adopted in 1977.
In politics, a red flag is predominantly a symbol of left-wing politics, including socialism, communism, Marxism, labour movement, and anarchism. The originally empty or plain red flag has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution (1789–1799).
The national flag of Ukraine consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow.
The State Anthem of the Ukrainian SSR was the Soviet republican anthem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic when it was one of the republics of the Soviet Union.
A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. It has been widely used in flags, state emblems, monuments, ornaments, and logos.
The flag of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Yakut: Саха Өрөспүүбүлүкэтин былааҕа Saqa Öröspüübülüketin Bılaağa; Russian: Флаг Республики Саха (Якутия)), in the Russian Federation, is one of the official symbols of the Sakha Republic, alongside the coat of arms and the national anthem of the Sakha Republic. The flag has four horizontal stripes. From top to bottom, the stripes are light blue (3/4 of the flag's width), white (1/16), red (1/16), and green (1/8). The flag has been used officially as the flag of the Sakha Republic since 14 October 1992. The light blue stripe is charged with a white disc in the center. The diameter of the disc is 2/5 of the flag's width.
The ribbon of Saint George is a Russian military symbol consisting of a black and orange bicolour pattern, with three black and two orange stripes. It appears as a component of many high military decorations awarded by the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the current Russian Federation.
Upon the independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union, the country resurrected national symbols that were used before the Soviet era. These included a flag of red and white stripes and a coat of arms consisting of a charging knight on horseback. These national symbols were replaced by Soviet-era symbols in a disputed 1995 vote. Those two symbols, along with the national anthem, are the constitutionally defined national symbols of Belarus.
The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. The tournament is promoted and organized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the three tournaments in rhythmic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup and the gymnastics competitions at the Olympic Games. The first edition of the World Championships was held in 1963, a time when the sport was known as modern gymnastics. The current program of the World Championships contemplates both individual and group performances. In even non-Olympic years and the year before the Olympics, a team event is also contested. Two events are not competed at the World Championships anymore: individual rope and free hands.
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, previously known as the Russian Soviet Republic and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, as well as being unofficially referred to as Soviet Russia, the Russian Federation, or simply Russia, was an independent federal socialist state from 1917 to 1922, and afterwards the largest and most populous Soviet socialist republic of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1922 to 1991, until becoming a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with priority of Russian laws over Union-level legislation in 1990 and 1991, the last two years of the existence of the USSR. The Russian SFSR was composed of sixteen smaller constituent units of autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais and forty oblasts. Russians formed the largest ethnic group. The capital of the Russian SFSR and the USSR as a whole was Moscow and the other major urban centers included Leningrad, Stalingrad, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, Gorky and Kuybyshev. It was the first socialist state in the world.
The state anthem of the Sakha Republic is the regional anthem of the Sakha Republic, a federal subject of Russia. It is one of the official symbols of the Sakha Republic, along with the flag and the coat of arms of the Sakha Republic. It was originally written in the Yakut language by Savva Tarasov and Mikhail Timofeyev. The anthem was translated into Russian by Vladimir Fedorov. The music was composed by Kirill Gerasimov. It was officially adopted on 15 July 2004. The anthem's music is played in F major.
Communist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, the peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity. The red flag, the hammer and sickle and the red star or variations thereof are some of the symbols adopted by communist movements, governments, and parties worldwide.
