17.01.2002, Ivanova V.
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Only one-third of those surveyed (32%) (Russia-wide poll conducted on October 14-15, 2000. Cf. )http://www.fom.ru/survey/dominant/82/160/567.html liked the «Patriotic Song» by Mikhail Glinka as the national anthem of Russia. In December 2000, the old tune by Anatoly Alexandrov accompanied by new words was adopted as Russia's new anthem. Following this change, the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens came to feel positive about the nation's main song: 28% «definitely like» it, and 39% «rather like it than not." As few as one-tenth of respondents (11%) disapprove of the anthem, and (23%) have difficulty defining their stance.
At the same time, three-fourths of surveyed Russians (73%) confess to knowing only the tune of the anthem. Only 14% say they know both the music and the words. The representatives of the regional elite are barely better informed: four-fifths of the expert poll participants proved to know only the tune; the rest, i.e. one in every five, know the words, too. The experts, by the way, feel slightly more negative about the Russian Federation's new anthem: one third of them like it, and one half don't.
61% of the population poll participants believe that Russians today respect their anthem, against 15% saying the song is not respected by the masses. About one-fourth of respondents failed to answer the question.
The respondents' attitudes towards the current national anthem depend largely on their age and political views, with older people and supporters of Gennady Zyuganov showing above-average positive feelings for it. Not only are these people accustomed to the tune by Alexandrov, they also believe more then the rest of the population that the anthem is predominantly respected by Russians at large. Focus group discussions show, furthermore, that the change of the anthem's words does not matter much to Russian citizens.
When ask an open-ended question "What do you think of when you hear the Russian national anthem?," 22% said they experience "patriotic feelings," or are "proud of their country."
- "Motherland feeling";
- "I feel like a patriot and a citizen";
- "Love of my home country."
Focus group participants show much the same stance.
- "The anthem simply promotes patriotic feelings"
(DFG, Samara).
- "
Moderator: What do you think of this tune? What feelings does it arouse?
DFG participant: Patriotism" (DFG, Samara).
The population poll as well as group discussions show the majority of Russians feel good about the new national anthem mainly by force of habit. When asked "What is the reason you feel the way you do about Russia's national anthem?", 17% of respondents (two-fifths of all those showing a positive attitude towards the anthem and prepared to name their reasons) said it is "the good tune and words." 10% of those surveyed are simply used to the sound of it, and for 4%, this music evokes pleasant memories of the past.
Dialogues between participants of focus group discussions bear witness to the majority of Russians judging the present anthem only with regard to the tune. Their knowledge of the new lyrics is thin.
- "The words are new. The tune is the one we all know"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "
Moderator: And what about the words, do you know the anthem's words?
DFG participant: No, I don't. I know the tune" (DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "Not a single word of this anthem stuck in my memory"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
The best-informed of the DFG participants recall them with difficulty:
- "I believe «God» comes in the end. «God, save us"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "Vast amplitudes; its about area"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "Russia, our sacred nation"... I don't remember the rest"
(DFG, Samara).
- "I have listened to it once, but there were attempts to make the words little different <from the old ones> as to their meaning. Instead of «indissoluble union" there comes «Commonwealth," and that's it»
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
In some focus group participants' opinion, the lyrics of a national anthem are of minor importance. What matters is the music.
- "By the way, historically, the lyrics of anthems played no particular role, in comparison with their tune"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "Music always affects one much stronger than lyrics"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
The reason why the Soviet anthem arouses good feelings in Russian citizens is first and foremost the fact that they are used to it.
- "As patriotic music, it is very good. Everyone remembers it and recognizes it readily"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "To my mind, it is a majestic tune, and it corresponds to our mother country, and it also has a history in a way, for we have grown up with this music, after all"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "The music - unforgettable"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
Furthermore, Alexandrov's tune matches Russian notions of an ideal national anthem in general and a fitting one for their own country, a great, mighty power, in particular.
- "
Moderator: Generally speaking, do you like the tune?
1st DFG participant: It is very good for an anthem.
2nd DFG participant: It is powerful enough for a national anthem... Powerful and festive" (DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "It appears to be the symbol of a strong state. It is really a symbol of power"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "
Moderator: Does the anthem meet your expectations?
1st DFG participant: The tune does.
2nd DFG participant: The music does" (DFG, Moscow).
As far as those feeling bad about the new national anthem are concerned, some of them are afraid the old regime might come back.
- "I don't feel like rising and being proud of it. Perestroika has marked my personality"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
Respondents holding a more radical stance think a new state needs a new anthem.
- "This anthem belonged to the USSR, not to Russia"
(open-ended question).
- "This is the past anthem of a past nation"
(open-ended question).
- "It belongs to our past life"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
19% of those who answered the respective open-ended question spoke of memories of Soviet life and the USSR in general that come to mind when they hear Alexandrov's anthem music. 8% recall that life, or typical images of their Soviet childhood years, like young pioneers' camps or festive rallies:
- "Recollections of Soviet times";
- "Childhood memories";
- "I recall my time as a young pioneer: the parades, the flag";
- "I recall the rallies."
Six percent recall the USSR in general:
- "The image of the Soviet Union";
- "I recall the times when the «indissoluble Union of free republics» was there."
Three percent of those answering the question spoke of continuity linking the new anthem with the old Soviet one:
- "I recall the USSR's anthem";
- "It has the same tune as the old Soviet anthem."
2% of respondents openly spoke of their nostalgic memories and the country's perished greatness:
- "Nostalgia about the past and about things we used to be proud of";
- "Yearning for past times, the might that vanished";
Significantly, in only two percent of responses is Russia mentioned:
- "It becomes clear at once that Russia is a great power";
- "I realize Russia is a great nation."
Against this background, it is debatable if the present anthem corresponds with the present image of the Russian state, DFG participants think. The discrepancy between reality and the declared goals of the country's development, on the one hand, and the symbol of the powerful Soviet regime, on the other, represent a serious obstacle for many to recognize and respect the new national anthem.
Some respondents say they can't see what ideological values are supposed to be transmitted by the anthem, which combines symbols both of the past and the present political order:
- "
1st DFG participant: I got very mixed feelings. On the one hand, the tune has been familiar for quite long a time. It does not irritate me. It is our anthem, we used to know it and to perform proper gestures when it played: we stood up and saluted. But today it simply does not correspond with the state we have.
2nd DFG participant: Maybe its about the dissonance between the anthem and the symbols that exist in everyone's mind. As to us, what we used to associate with this anthem was the hammer and sickle and the color red.
3rd DFG participant: And the opening words, «the indissoluble Union."
4th DFG participant: And now we have the two-headed eagle as the national coat-of-arms, the striped flag, and an anthem that belongs to a different set of symbols.
2nd DFG participant: «God save the Tsar» would be just as inappropriate today, though. But this combination of the Tsarist coat-of-arms and flag with the revolutionary anthem is something quite...
5th DFG participant: "You can't harness a horse and a deer to one carriage»: why combine Tsarist symbols with Soviet ones? Here is the contradiction. That's why it doesn't work, despite all the power it used to have: because it used to sound in the context of that flag and that coat-of-arms, while now it is totally out of context, since the flag and the coat-of-arms are different, and the people has changed to a certain extent" (DFG, Novosibirsk).
Others feel the dissonance between Russia's present condition, which is far from fine, and the great-power pathos of the USSR anthem.
- "
1st DFG participant: Its words reflect the strength of Russia, and its prosperity.
2nd DFG participant: Things that are not there" (DFG, Samara).
- "Indeed, our state is far from mighty nowadays, that's why this anthem is not accepted. There's a discrepancy"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "It is a symbol of immense might, but there are starving children and old people in the streets"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
90% of respondents and most of the regional experts think increasing the public's respect for the national anthem is an important task. When discussing ways of making citizens show more regard for state symbols, poll participants come to discuss relations between people and the state in general. People's indifference for state's symbols can only be overcome by getting them to respect their state more.
- "I think the only way one can popularize the state symbols is to build something one can respect the state for"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "It was said more than once today that the «state symbols» are an absurd set of symbols. I think for the time being, our state doesn't deserve any public respect. What's in those symbols? They just are there, and that is all"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
Respondents thing the national anthem and other state symbols can only acquire more authority if the state changes the way it treats its citizens and takes more care of their material and social well-being, increases their security, and respects their rights and freedoms.
Poll participants were asked: "What has to be done so that citizens respect the Russian national anthem more?" 22% said the living standards of the population have to be improved:
- "When the country prospers, its anthem will be respected; people who scrape around in scrap-heaps don't care about an anthem";
- "Take more care of the people, improve living standards";
- "You have to be positive you are protected under this anthem."
Another 6% of those answering the question pointed out that the country's authority in the world has to be increased, too:
- "When a country's international authority grows, the attitude towards its anthem changes";
- "Russia's position in the world has to be strengthened."
The authority of politicians and the state establishment in general was mentioned by four percent of respondents who answered this question:
- "To begin with, the authorities have to be respected; then respect for the anthem will follow";
- "When the state is trusted, the anthem will be respected."
The state's respecting the citizens is a factor for 2% of respondents:
- "The president and the authorities have to deal well with the people";
- "If the people feels respected, it will in turn have respect."
Comparing the way citizens feel about the state symbols of today with the way they felt about them in the Soviet times, poll participants note that Russians nowadays aren't proud of their country, whereas such pride is exactly the kind of emotion firmly associated with the Soviet anthem.
- "In the past, our successes were quite frequently reported to the sound of the anthem"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "Really, the symbols represent a country and the spirit of the people. Or at least they are supposed to. In fact, they are like the pride of the people. When we are defending the country, for instance; when the anthem resounds, it means something has been achieved in the country, it means they have succeeded in something in this country, they have won"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "Practically, on television we never experience a pride in Russia being planted in us. It never happens"
(DFG, Samara).
As to the know-how of image-building for Russia's state symbols, participants of focus groups seek it in Soviet history with its state patriotism propaganda machinery.
- "In the past, it was printed on the first page of every schoolbook. Its words were the first thing you learned when you were taught to read"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "Formerly, learning it was obligatory at school"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
To the open-ended question "What has to be done so that citizens respect the Russian national anthem more?", 14% of those surveyed said the younger generation should be bought up in patriotism, 10% stressed that the anthem should be constantly heard on television and radio, and 7% ascribed the chief importance to well-organized patriotic propaganda by the state:
- "They should instill in children a love for the anthem";
- "Broadcast it through radio and television more often";
- "A state ideology is needed."
The majority of DFG participants, however, insisted on definite limits being set on propaganda. They would find it appropriate if the national anthem would be on the air on solemn occasions, but only through state-owned TV channels and radio stations.
- "
Moderator: Would you like it to come in on all channels every morning?
1st DFG participant: No, that would be overkill.
2nd DFG participant: No, that would be much too much. The solemnity of it would be gone pretty soon" (DFG, Moscow).
- "If it's a national channel, I think it should be that way"
(DFG, Moscow).
- "There is another good moment for the anthem to sound, and that is the close-down time. National channels could do with such a thing"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
- "If they air it every time something really outstanding has been done, then let it be more often. But why do it just so, for no particular reason?"
(DFG, Novosibirsk).
Summing up, an important problem has been highlighted by the respondents' answers to open-ended questions and by dialogues between focus group participants discussing Russia's new anthem. Although the overall attitude towards the anthem is rather positive, many Russians do not conceive of it as the symbol of Russian statehood, because Russia's image today represents a sharp contrast to the associations aroused by the tune of the old Soviet anthem.
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