Mila Rodino

"Mila Rodino" (/ˈmiːlə ˈrɔːdɪnoʊ/ MEEL-ə RAW-din-oh; lit. 'Dear Motherland') is the national anthem of Bulgaria. It was composed and written by Tsvetan Radoslavov as he left to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885. It was adopted in 1964. Its lyrics have been changed many times, most recently in 1990. On 12 July 1991, the anthem was shortened to its first verse along with the chorus.
Between 1886 and 1947, "Šumi Marica" was used as the Bulgarian national anthem; from 1951 to 1964, "Bǎlgarijo Mila" was used; and for a short time between 1947 and 1951, the march "Republiko naša, zdravej!" was used.
The song was created by scientist and composer Tsvetan Radoslavov in 1885, after his participation in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. He was inspired to create the song based on his poems when he saw Serbian students singing their own patriotic song on their journey home. It was first printed in 1895 in Part I of "Music Textbook" by K. Mahan.
In the 1960s, after the de-Stalinization process, the poet Georgi Dzhagarov began an effort to replace the previous anthem, which was based on the State Anthem of the Soviet Union and included references to Joseph Stalin. After discussing with Todor Zhivkov, General Secretary Zhivkov accepted the idea. On 29 March 1962, the Council of Ministers held a competition for the lyrics and the music for the new anthem, with the deadline for the submission of lyrics on 1 May 1963 and the music on 1 November 1963. The committee for the new anthem was selected by Zhivkov himself. The lyrics for the new anthem were finalized on 1 September 1963, and the music was finalized on 1 March 1964. The Council of Ministers also drew up a panel of experts to look at the projects submitted in advance and to put the best of the proposals to discussion amongst the committee.
After the proposals for the lyrics and the music were submitted, the committee was not satisfied, so they accepted the advice of Georgi Dzhagarov to use "Mila Rodino" as the music for the new anthem. The duty of composing lyrics was assigned to Georgi Dzhagarov and Dmitry Metodiev, while the melody of the anthem was revised with further harmonization by Philip Kutev and Alexander Raichev.
Under Zhivkov's orders, Georgi Dzhagarov and Dimitar Metodiev resided in the Vrana Palace to compose the text of "Mila Rodino".
During the composition of the lyrics, Georgi Dzhagarov was not particularly proud of his creation. He preferred the anthem without the mentions of the Soviet Union and the leadership of the Bulgarian Communist Party in the third verse of the anthem. An alternate version of the third verse can be found in Dzhagarov's manuscript.
The final composition of the lyrics consisted of the original first verse and the chorus of the anthem by Tsvetan Radoslavov, as well as two new verses: the second verse references the fight for Bulgarian independence and the fight against fascism during World War II, and the third verse references the Communist Party of the Soviet Union along with the Communist Party of Bulgaria.
In 1964, before the affirmation of "Mila Rodino" as the national anthem, the decision met resistance from Petko Staynov. Staynov argued that the melody is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin and this makes the song not suitable for being the anthem of Bulgaria. Dobri Hristov countered the argument, stating that there are hundreds of melodies in Bulgarian songs which are borrowed from other people and thus became an integral part of the Bulgarian musical heritage. This statement led to Staynov being removed from the committee for the new anthem by Todor Zhivkov.
On 8 September 1964, "Mila Rodino" was finally affirmed by the Presidium of the National Assembly, with the Decree No. 534, as the national anthem of Bulgaria. The first performance of the song as the national anthem of Bulgaria took place on 9 September 1964, the 20th anniversary of the Socialist Revolution of 9 September.
During the discussion for the new constitution of Bulgaria in the 7th Grand National Assembly, there are some proposals submitted for a new anthem. The proposals include "Šumi Marica" and "Vǎrvi, narode vǎzrodeni".
The most recent one was the petition by writer Nikola Indzhov to change the anthem of Bulgaria to "Vǎrvi, narode vǎzrodeni", the anthem of the Bulgarian Enlightenment.
According to the Institutional Identity of the Administration of the State of Bulgaria, there are two versions of the anthem, the full and the abridged version.
The anthem is to be played on the following occasions:
The abridged version of the anthem can be played on the following occasions:
The anthem of the Republic of Bulgaria can only be performed once a day, on the same ceremony.
The national anthem is not allowed to be used in advertising, with the exception of national campaigns taken by state authorities. The anthem cannot be used as part of another melody or song, nor to be remixed with different lyrics other than the legally established ones. Playing the national anthem inappropriately, including distorting the original music, is also forbidden.
The first regulation on the anthem came from Decree No. 534 "On the approval of the text and the music of the national anthem of the People's Republic of Bulgaria", which was published on 8 September 1964.
The anthem currently officially consists of the first verse and chorus. During communist rule, two additional verses (II and III) were added that referred to Moscow (under direct instructions of Todor Zhivkov) and the Bulgarian Communist Party, as well as the fallen fighters for Bulgaria through the years. After the changes in 1989, this part of the anthem was removed and forbidden to be performed.
Another version of the lyrics was published by composer Dobri Hristov. It was published in the Rodina collection, by the Publishing of the Bulgarian-Mohammedian Cultural and Enlightenment Friendship, in the town of Smolyan.