Cherova
Kalyna, a Ukrainian patriotic hymn that has become an anthem of Kyiv’s
resistance against the Kremlin, landed a Crimean beauty queen in trouble
recently. Olga Valeeva, the winner of Miss Crimea 2022, rendered the song in
the form of an Instagram story along with a friend. After Russian authorities
found out, Valeeva was fined $680 and her friend had to serve a 10-day jail
sentence. Valeeva escaped jail because she is a mother to minor children.

History
of the song

Cherova
Kalyna, often referred to as Oi u luzi cherovna kalyna, is a Ukrainian song
with several versions beginning in the 19th century. The name of the
song translates roughly into English as Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow. The
lyrics of the song were first published in 1875 by Volodymyr Antonovych and
Mykhailo Drahomanov.

After
the Russian invasion

A modern
version of the song, composed by Stepan Charnetsky in 1914, was later adopted
by the Ukrainian People’s Army of the Ukrainian War of Independence and the World
War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

The song
regained prominence after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The very next month, Andriy Khlyvnyuk on the Ukrainian band Boombox, performed
a cappella rendition of the song. Boombox was touring the United States at the
time.

Pink Floyd
cover

Pink Floyd,
the iconic British band which gave the world Another Brick in the Wall, made
use of Khlyvnyuk’s recording for the vocal track of ‘Hey, Hey, Rise Up!’ The
song opens with a sample from another recording of ‘Oh, the Red Viburnum…’ by
the Veryovka Ukrainian Folk Choir.

Outlawed
in Russia

Russia has
banned the singing of Ukrainian nationalist hymns in Crimea since Putin sent
his men on a ‘special military operation.’ The song Cherovna Kalyna and others
are deemed by Moscow as promotion of ‘Nazi symbols’ and discrediting of the
Russian army.