By Roland Oliphant
Separatists celebration in Luhansk. (Sept. 15 2014).
The break-away state established by Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine has launched a song contest to find its controversial national anthem.
If you’ve always fancied yourself as a competitor in the Eurovision song contest, but never quite made the cut, this opportunity could be for you.
Novorossia, the break-away state established by Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, is in search of a national anthem - and it has launched a song contest to find one.
The move is just the latest in a series of initiatives launched by separatist leaders as they seek to turn the patch of territory into a functioning, recognisable state.
Alongside elections called on November 2, the anthem, leaders hope, will help “new Russia” define itself as something akin to a real country - even if no one recognises it.
Entries are still open for the official anthem, which will be chosen by a vote of the parliament of “Novorossia” - an entity made up of the self-declared Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics - at the end of the year.
One of the latest offerings, by Russian pop-duo Vika and Vadim Tsiganov, was unveiled in Moscow at a glitzy performance on the weekend.
No expense was spared in the production. According to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, the lyrics by producer Vadim Tsiganov were set to music by Serbian composer Ninoslav Ademović - better known for his work with Gipsy Kings and Bosnian Serb musician Goran Bregović.
The song, which begins with the lyrics “Arise, motherland, here is your will, Novorossia!” and continues in the same vein, was recorded at a studio in Italy.
It is one of about 30 contenders to become the new anthem, RIA Novosti reported.
Several other Russian stars, including Iossif Kobzon, a veteran crooner sometimes called Russia’s Frank Sinatra, are also thought to considering entering.
Iossif Kobzon - often refered to as Russia's Frank Sinatra - is thought to be entering the competition
Anyone considering entering should be aware that Mrs Tsiganov and her husband have powerful backers, however.
A long time supporter of the separatist cause, in September she recorded an “answer to NATO” called “This is My Motherland” featuring a cameo by separatist leader Pavel Gubarev.
Her performance on Monday was attended by Igor Strelkov, the notorious separatist military commander, and Oleg Tsarev, a former Ukrainian MP who has thrown in his lot with the rebels and become speaker of the Novorossia parliament. Mr Tsarev told RIA Novosti he has already decided to back Tsiganova’s entry.
Mr Strelkov, who executed several people under Stalin-era military law while he was running the Ukrainian town of Slavyansk, presented Ms Tsiganova with flowers and said he “liked the song,” but stopped short of endorsing it for the win.
It was a rare public appearance for Mr Strelkov, whose real name is Igor Girkin, a native Muscovite and self-confessed former officer of Russia’s FSB intelligence service who was relieved of command in murky circumstance in August.
He has kept a low profile since, but launched a blog on which he has bitterly criticised several other separatists for serving Vladislav Surkov, a close advisor of Vladimir Putin who some say was responsible for recalling Mr Strelkov from Ukraine.
Meanwhile the republics, which remain the real centres of power in “Novorossia,” are also looking for their own anthems.
Yuri Legstutes, Donetsk People’s Republic’s minister for culture and tourism, launched Donetsk’s own search for an anthem in July.
“We had several unofficial songs that emerged, so we wanted to finally chose something official,” he said.
“The process is nearly complete,” he told the Telegraph by telephone on Wednesday. “We’ve got it down to two finalists, and the winning text will be chosen by the Supreme Soviet [the DNR’s parliament] shortly. The date for that session hasn’t been set yet.”
Mr Legstutes did not reveal which songs are in the running, but the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine has inspired several unofficial anthems.
Popular amongst the overwhelmingly elderly core of supporters in the early days of the uprising were the Soviet National anthem and various Second-World war ears songs.
Perhaps the defining song of that period was “Russian March,” a ponderous ballad to Russian military might by husband and wife folk duo Zhanna Bichevskaya and Gennady Ponomarev. It includes the lines “Russians spit on the power of America and Europe” and features the inspired chorus “march, march, march, Russian march.”
Some artists, however, have sought to dispense with misty-eyed Soviet nostalgia in favour of more anarchic musical forms.
In April, during the chaotic and violent early days of the separatist movement, a local punk group called Day of the Triffids offered a pounding, unpolished rendition of Arise, Donbass!
In May a rebel fighter called Andrey Donskoi won moderate fame with his self-shot, camouflage-and-Kalashnikov hip-hop video “Russia is Orthodox.”
Apparently filmed in a conference room in an occupied office building, and centring on men in army surplus gear with automatic weapons (at a crucial moment Donskoi cocks his AK in time to the beat), in its way “Russia is Orthodox” had much more to say about life in separatist Donetsk than the schmaltzy, neon-lit version of patriotism proffered at the Monday’s performance in Moscow.
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