New order of performance of national anthem could take effect in  Armenia

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MECS) of Armenia has submitted a draft for public discussion on the unified portal of  legal acts edraft.am, which should establish a new procedure for the  performance of the anthem of the Republic of Armenia.

As stated in the explanatory note to the document, the law on  amendments and additions to the law on the anthem of the Republic of  Armenia, adopted on March 5, 2025, legislatively enshrined the full  and short versions of the anthem with the corresponding musical and  textual editions. However, before the adoption of these provisions,  only one, standard version of the anthem was used in practice, as a  result of which it depended on when and where this or that version  should be performed. The draft proposes to develop a new procedure  that will clarify the format for the performance of the versions  established by law. The adoption of this procedure will ensure the  proper use of the anthem of the Republic of Armenia as a state symbol  and will establish legal clarity at all state and public levels. The  previous order, created before the above-mentioned changes to the  law, did not provide the necessary flexibility for the use of  different versions of the anthem and at the same time full compliance  with the requirements of the law, the document says.

The new procedure clearly defines in which cases the long version  should be used, and in which the short one. This will facilitate the  most effective performance of the anthem, in accordance with the  format of the event and time frame, without deviations in the content  and order of performance. It also specifies in what format the  ceremonies will be held, in what version of the performance the  anthem will be performed: orchestral, orchestral- choral, choral,  solo or solo.

The anthem of Armenia - the composition Our Fatherland was approved  on July 1, 1991 by the decision of the Supreme Council of the  Republic of Armenia. It is based on the poem by Mikael Nalbandyan  Song of the Italian Girl (1859) to the music of Barsegh Kanachyan.

On March 5 of this year, the Armenian parliament by a majority vote  adopted the standard for the performance of the national anthem  (including the recording) at official events. Official standards for  orchestration and vocal performance (including a cappella) were  adopted. At unofficial events (for example, at concerts), the anthem  may be performed in other variations. The text of the anthem (which  in previous decades was performed with minor differences in the text)  has also been approved. The anthem will both begin and end with words  about Armenia (at the beginning - Our homeland, free and independent,  at the end - 'Let Armenia shine forever').

Now the anthem ends with the verse: "Look at it, in three colors, Let  our sacred sign shine before the enemies, Let there always be  Armenia! ". At the same time, the last verse of the current anthem -  "There is one death everywhere, Man dies only once, But blessed is he  who dies for the freedom of his people" became the second after its  adoption. The anthem now has a single official recording with a short  version that will be used at international events.

The proposal to amend the law was made by the Speaker of the  Parliament Alen Simonyan, the deputies of the Civil Contract faction  Sisak Gabrielyan and Taguhi Ghazaryan. An official standard for the  short version of the anthem (which is usually performed, in  particular, at sports competitions) was also proposed.

Back in June 2023, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in the  country's parliament that the current coat of arms of the republic  has no relation to the state that was founded in 1991. He pointed out  that the coat of arms of the republic depicts Ararat with Noah's Ark  on top, as well as the coats of arms of the four dynasties of  Armenia. In his opinion, the coat of arms of the republic is hardly  connected with the statehood of Armenia.  Pashinyan also drew  attention to the fact that the coat of arms depicts a lion, 'which  has not lived in the natural conditions of Armenia for a long time.'