"Vajacki marš" (
Belarusian: Ваяцкі марш, pronounced[vaˈjat͡skʲiˈmarʂ]; "March of the Warriors"), also known by its first line "My vyjdziem ščylnymi radami" (
Belarusian: Мы выйдзем шчыльнымі радамі; "Come, We Shall March in Joint Endeavour"), was the
national anthem of the short-lived
Belarusian Democratic Republic that existed from 1918 to 1919.
History
The lyrics of the song were first published in 1919 in
Minsk, in the
newspaper, Belarus. As the anthem of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, the song was approved in 1920, even though the republic was in exile at that time.
During the
Soviet rule of
Belarus, the song was banned. However, there were attempts to adapt the lyrics to the communist ideology by replacing mentions of the national Belarusian
white-red-white flag with those of the
Soviet red banner. Throughout the 20th century, the song was actively used by pro-independence organizations of the
Belarusian diaspora.
After the restoration of the independence of Belarus in 1991, there were propositions to make Vajacki marš the
national anthem of the
Republic of Belarus once again. In particular, the renowned writers
Vasil Bykau,
Ales Adamovich and
Ryhor Baradulin issued a public appeal in favour of making Vajacki marš the national anthem of Belarus.[1] Other symbols of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, such as the
Pahonia and the white-red-white flag, were restored as state symbols and used until 1995. The former anthem, however, was never restored as the country's national anthem, making the
Anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic retain its status as the official anthem, despite the restoration of the former symbols of independence. The retained anthem did not have any lyrics until 2002, when new lyrics replaced the Soviet-era ones.