Ukrainian “Shchedryk” in Donbas: inspiring the defenders and threatening the occupiers
25 December 15:56
The world-famous “Shchedryk” was performed by border guards, police, National Guard and rescuers at the stele at the entrance to Donetsk region. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“The melody, which enchants the whole world during the Christmas holidays, was played near Pokrovsk, where composer Mykola Leontovych once lived and worked. Today, the Russian occupiers are on the outskirts of the city… More than 100 years ago, “Shchedryk” became a symbol of the Ukrainian struggle for independence. The author of the work was killed for his activities, but no one will be able to kill the idea of Ukraine, its culture and customs,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also released a video filmed among the waste heaps.
“Shchedryk” will help defeat enemies at the front
The Defense Ministry has codified and authorized the supply of a domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) called Shchedryk to the Defense Forces. It performs the task of monitoring enemy actions on the battlefield. “Shchedryk can operate both during the day and at night.
According to the Main Directorate for Support of the Life Cycle of Weapons and Military Equipment, the Shchedryk system consists of a control station and remotely piloted aircraft. The latter are equipped with silent electric motors and have increased resistance to electronic interference.
The Shchedryk aircraft can perform missions in strong winds, frost and heat.
The legendary Shchedryk has become a symbol of Pokrovsk
It is believed that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych may have written the first scores of the work, based on Ukrainian folklore singing, when he lived and worked in Pokrovsk in 1904-1908.
“Shchedryk was first performed by a student choir in Kyiv on December 25, 1916, at St. Volodymyr’s University. A few years later, by order of Symon Petliura, the Ukrainian Republican Chapel was created and toured Europe, popularizing not only the carol but also other Ukrainian songs to prove Ukraine is not Russia, but a full-fledged original state with its own unique culture. After Oleksandr Koshyts’s choir toured Europe in 1919 and the United States in 1922, Shchedryk became known not only in Ukraine but throughout the world.
Mykola Leontovych was not only a composer but also an active public figure. In particular, it is known that he worked at the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. On the night of January 23, 1921, in the village of Markivka, Podillia province, Mykola Leontovych, the author of “Shchedryk,” was killed by a shot from a rifle. Later it would become known that the murder was organized by a county underground Bolshevik organization.
Mykola Leontovych’s carol “Shchedryk” became known worldwide as “Carol of the Bells” after the American composer Peter (Peter) Wilgowsky wrote an English text for the song. The Hollywood movie Home Alone helped to increase the popularity of the work.
