National anthem of Ukraine

The State Anthem of Ukraine, also known by its incipit "Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia" and its original title "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina", is one of the state symbols of Ukraine.

The lyrics are a slightly modified version of the first verse and chorus of the patriotic song "Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy", written in 1862 by Pavlo Chubynskyi, an ethnographer from Kyiv. In 1863, Mykhailo Verbytskyi, a composer and Catholic priest, composed the music to accompany Chubynskyi's lyrics. The first choral public performance of the piece was in 1864 at the Ruska Besida Theatre in Lviv.

In 1865, the song was performed in the Polish city of Przemyśl (then part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austrian Empire) during a commemoration of Taras Shevchenko. This historic moment later became the foundation for Ukraine’s National Anthem Day, which is celebrated yearly on March 10.

In the first half of the 20th century, during unsuccessful attempts to gain independence and create a state from the territories of the Russian Empire, Poland, and Austria-Hungary, the song was the national anthem of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the West Ukrainian People's Republic, and Carpatho-Ukraine. A competition was held for a national anthem following Ukraine's secession from the Soviet Union, with one of the songs being "Za Ukrainu" by the Ukrainian writer and actor Mykola Voronyi. "Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy" was officially adopted by the Verkhovna Rada—Ukraine's parliament—on 15 January 1992. The official lyrics were adopted on 6 March 2003 by the Law on the State anthem of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Закон «Про Державний гімн України»).