The State Anthem of the Moldavian SSR[a] 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".

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."

Photo Credits:
- Wikimedia Commons - Ion Chibzii