Anthem of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
The State Anthem of the Moldavian SSR was the regional anthem of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Originally, the anthem began with the words, ""Moldova cu doine străbune pe plaiuri"" and was composed by Ștefan Neaga, with lyrics by the poets Emilian Bukov and Bogdan Istru (Ivan Bodarev) in 1945. Ivan Bodiul, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Moldova, authorized composer Eduard Lazarev to modify the anthem in a "Musical Renovation". (Second Edition of the Anthem). The lyrics were rewritten, removing all references to  Joseph Stalin. The music was also altered, removing the original three-stanza structure in favor of a single-stanza three-part structure. The beginning words of the anthem were changed to ""Moldova Sovietică"". History. In 1945 Ștefan Neaga wrote the melody for the Anthem of Moldova SSR, for which the poets Emil Bukov and Bogdan Istru created the lyrics. Thanks to this work, the composer and the writers won the first prize of a great national musical contest in the Soviet Union, where composers from Moldova and other Soviet republics presented their works. "E. Bukov remembered how demanding and self -critic was Ștefan Neaga. For this anthem, he made dozens of variants, each time being dissatisfied. The Anthem -said the composer-, had to be composed so when a person hears it, he would stand up filled by a deep patriotic sentiment. The anthem that they created, was highly appreciated by musicians, becoming for over 45 years the main song of the country. Through this musical work, Neaga became the eternal pride and joy of the Moldavian people. (Moldova socialistă, 1951)"Moldavian SSR's anthem is one of the best creations of this genre. Adopted in 1945, it entered for three and  half decades in our republic's symbolism". It was very melodic and it had some ties with folk music. The musicologist Leonid Răilean testified: "In the years of the "greater country" (USSR), one day, the anthem ceased to like. When Stalin died in 1953, during the De-Stalinization, the State Anthems were muted by Nikita Khrushchev and the Moldovian SSR anthem was like a long melody it supposed that they were 25 years of a anthem without lyrics. In 1977, the Soviet Union adopted a new constitution and lyrics of the National Anthem, all its Socialist Republics followed the same  path. Bodiul, who took over in 1961, got bored with the long anthem without lyrics and decided to make it shorter and simpler, keeping the original idea. And, as its author was no longer alive, Ivan Bodiul authorized Eduard Lazarev "to renovate" the anthem. The task was given to the composer who maintained the music of the verses, added an introduction, an intermezzo, and in the end a variation of the old Chorus. This renovation deformed and damaged the music structure and thus, its sonority. One way or another, in the early 90s, this anthem was thrown to the garbage  dump of history, as well as other signs of the past times". Ștefan Neaga said that he wanted to represent with his work "the creativity and love of Great Stalin, the certainty of the victory of communism, and his desire to give all his forces in this unique case". ""I wanted to play in this gratifying music event, to create the symbol of these historic victories, in which the Moldovan people regained their freedom."" Neaga was an artist who supervised under his own magnifying glass the weaknesses of his art. French writer Claude Roy said that there is a type  of character in which one can see a creation as "an art to shine for yourself and for others, a little more than one can really live your life." Mystery of lyrics. In the only instrumental recording of the Moldavian SSR National Anthem, made by the Brass Band of the USSR Ministry of Defence in 1968, the original version made by Neaga in 1945 can be heard. It is a "typical" Soviet Anthem with three stanzas and three choruses. Moldovan politician and historian Valeriu Passat (), stated in his exhibition "13 ani de Stalinism. RSS Moldovenească în anii 1940–1953" (13 Years  of Stalinism, Moldavian SSR in years 1940–1953) that Iosif Mordoveț () forced the authors to write the anthem. According to Vladimir Poțeluev, this anthem was created by an order made by the Supreme Soviet in Moscow, after the annexation of the Moldavian ASSR and Bessarabia (the west and east territory of the Dniester River) to the Soviet Union. It also said that the top brass (Stalin and others) set multiple rules for the writers of the lyrics: Rejected lyrics: Lyrics. Note on orthography. The Cyrillic script was used officially for the Romanian language (also called Moldovan in Transnistria and by less  developed rural regions of Moldova) during Soviet times. However, after 1989, the Romanian language in modern-day Moldova now officially uses the Latin script; only the breakaway state of Transnistria (claimed internationally as part of Moldova) still officially uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Post-Stalinist version (1980–1991). After Stalin's death in 1953, like other SSR anthems, any mentions of the former leader have been removed; however, a new version of the anthem wasn't adopted until 1980. The anthem was rewritten from the typical three verses with choruses—like other SSR anthems—to a three-part single verse without choruses , which was used until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The music was composed by Ștefan Neaga and was arranged by Eduard Lazarev, and the lyrics were written by Emilian Bucov and Bogdan Istru.