The Reason A Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Is Being Played At The Olympics Instead Of The Russian National Anthem

Aug 06, 2021 by apost team

Fans of the Olympics know that during the medal ceremonies, the gold-winning country gets to hear their national anthem played in the arena. However, this was not the case in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics due to an unfortunate scandal. Instead of hearing their national anthem, the winning Russian athletes will listen to the opening to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

In 2019, Russia was banned from all international sporting competitions by the World Anti-Doping Agency, including the Olympics. As punishment for covering up information relating to doping tests, Russian athletes are required to compete as the Russian Olympic Committee, and the use of the country’s national anthem has been banned. The ban will last for four years and remains in place through the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Tchaikovsky’s concerto was chosen to be played instead of the anthem. Russia originally requested “Katyusha” be used, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected their request because of the song’s direct association with the country. That song is a military anthem and Soviet folk song that gained fame during World War II as it was used to recruit Russians to join the war.

Swimmer Evgeny Rylov won the men’s 100 backstroke event on the third-day finals at the Tokyo Olympics. This made him Russia’s first Olympic gold medal winner in a swimming event since the 1996 Olympics. Russia’s national anthem, which is titled “State Anthem of the Russian Federation,” was written by Sergey Mikhalkov in 2000. This means Russians have never heard their current national anthem played at a pool event. 

The current Russian national anthem is not hugely popular among athletes. In fact, it was wordless when it was first released and stayed that way until members of the Spartak Moscow football club complained that the lack of words was hurting team morale. The song resembles a Soviet-era national anthem, “State Anthem of the Soviet Union,” but the lyrics have been changed entirely. The song replaces “Patrioticheskaya Pesnya,” which was the anthem from 1990 through 2000.

Even though the circumstances aren’t good, people are loving hearing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Tokyo Olympics. Many people have taken to Twitter to comment on the use of the song and agreed it is a hit. “The Russian Olympic Committee’s theme song when winning gold is Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and I for one think it’s a banger,” wrote Elisabeth Schendel or @lis_ashlee on Twitter.

Cathal Dennehy saw the humor in the situation, writing, “Please stand for your national anthem....eh, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Absolute tune to be fair.” Another user replied to the tweet, saying the song is, “Honestly a much better anthem.” 

In 2009, only 39% of Russians surveyed could recite the first line of the lyrics to their national anthem. It may be more popular now that more time has passed, but for the time being, the Russian national anthem goes unplayed at the Olympics. We expect to hear the anthem return after the ban on the country has lifted. Hopefully, the athletes of the Russian Olympic Committee will still compete well and bring honor to their country. 

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What do you think of the scandal that took place? Do you think it is fair that Russia’s national anthem will not be played? Let us know how you feel about it, and be sure to send this on to your friends and family that love the Olympics.