Ukrainian national anthem In 1863 the
Lvivan nationalist journal
Meta published "" (), but mistakenly ascribed it to
Taras Shevchenko. In the same year it was set to music by the
Galician composer
Mykhailo Verbytsky, first for solo and later choral performance. This song was disseminated throughout Ukraine as a rallying point for nationalist sentiments, leading Pavlo Chubynskyi to be seen as "negatively influencing peasants' minds" by the government of the
Russian Empire. They sought to neutralize his influence with assignments that isolated him, first to northern and cold Russian province
Arkhangelsk. When his work in that region was recognized internationally by his peers, Chubynskyi was sent to
Saint Petersburg to work in the Transport Ministry as a low-level official. He became paralyzed in 1880 and died four years later.
Legacy In 1917 the song with his lyrics was officially adopted as the national anthem of
Ukraine. In 2003, the president of Ukraine modified its lyrics. ==Notes==