"Glory to Ukraine!": meaning and origin of the popular slogan of Ukrainians

“Glory to Ukraine!” is a Ukrainian slogan with a complex history that speaks to the strength and will of Ukrainians, their resilience, and their ongoing struggle for the right to live freely on their own land. For many today, these words have been heard only in the last few years, since the Orange Revolution, when rally participants shouted this slogan during their protests on Independence Square in 2004. In fact, this appeal has a long history and was heard not only on the lands of present-day Ukraine, but even in Petersburg.

When did the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” first appear?

Many historians have studied the historical path of the slogan “Glory to Ukraine.” Some linked its appearance to the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921, when this slogan was used as a greeting by the Black Zaporozhians and the Kholodnyi Yar people. But it is documented that these words were first used in 1839 by T. H. Shevchenko in his poem “To Osnovianenko”:

Our thought, our song
Will not die, will not perish...
There, people, is our glory,
Glory to Ukraine!

That the slogan “Glory to Ukraine” was also used in the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood is shown by a poem by one of its members — Mykola Kostomarov — “Children of glory, children of glory, your time is coming.” Russian gendarmes seized it from the author during a search on 28 March 1847. The poem contained the lines:

“The deceitful nobility will perish,
Freedom will rise again
Glory to you, Ukraine!”
 

By the end of the 19th century, this phrase was used as a greeting among Kharkiv students who belonged to the proactive Ukrainian community. This fact is recorded in the notes of Oleksandr Kovalenko, co-founder of the RUP. Once he had to greet a student. As a greeting, Kovalenko said: “Glory to Ukraine!” — and in reply heard: “Glory throughout the land!”

“Glory to Ukraine!”: the history of a military greeting

According to historical mentions, the greeting “Glory to Ukraine!” was first heard in Cherkashchyna, in February 1920, during the Winter Campaign. The Haidamaks of Kholodnyi Yar and the Active Army of the UPR took part in it. It was then that the public figure and Ukrainian military man Yurii Horlis-Horskyi heard this greeting from the Kholodnyi Yar people. To his greeting, “Good day, boys!” he heard: “Glory to Ukraine!” Such a greeting was common among the military at the beginning of the 19th century. In response to the greeting, it was customary to say: “Glory to Ukraine!”.

Ukrainian slogans — the main rallying cries of protesters

Many photo documents have survived showing that at the beginning of the 19th century, in 1917-1920, the phrase “Glory to Ukraine!” was one of the few that appeared on the placards of Ukrainian protesters. This fact is confirmed by a photograph published in an issue of the information newspaper Nove Rada. It carried a report on meetings held on 15 March 1917 in the village of Diivka. In the article photo, one can see the inscription “Glory to Ukraine” among the protesters’ slogans. Such rallies took place in Irkutsk, Petrograd and Detroit.

The slogan “Glory to Ukraine” also entered the religious sphere, where honor was given not only to God, but also to Ukraine. Thus, in Kamianets-Podilskyi, a meeting was held at the diocesan Ukrainian congress of Podillia Governorate. Its report was sent in a telegram to the Central Rada and ended with the words “Glory to Ukraine.” This phrase was taken up by Skoropadskyi’s troops, the Black Cossacks of the UPR, the Kholodnyi Yar people, participants in the Soviet-Ukrainian War and even the Black Sea Fleet, whose ships sailed under the blue-and-yellow flag.

From the 20th century to the early 21st century

In 1925, the Elegy of Ukrainian Nationalists introduced a greeting for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The greeting form recognized by them was: “Glory to Ukraine — Glory to the Cossacks.” This slogan was also popular in the 1920s among Ukrainian Plast youth in Volyn and Galicia.

Despite the ban on Plast by the Poles, the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!” spread confidently among Ukrainians. It was heard during the trial of Stepan Bandera as well, and it remained in the first printed court chronicles. From there it spread across the world.

In 1939, when Hungarian troops were mercilessly driving out the members of the Carpathian Sich, the phrase “Glory to Ukraine!” was the last in the lives of the Sich members, which they shouted before death. In that same year, the slogan was banned by the Nazis. Only in the late 80s did the slogan “Glory to Ukraine” — “Glory to the Heroes!” begin to be heard again during protests and rallies in support of Ukraine’s independence.

A Ukrainian slogan heard around the world

People heard the words “Glory to Ukraine” during the Orange Revolution in 2004, in 2014 during the Revolution of Dignity, and it became a greeting for the National Police and the Armed Forces of Ukraine only from 24 August 2018, on the initiative of former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, in November 2022 Estonia issued a commemorative 2-euro coin bearing the words “Glory to Ukraine.” At the same time, Moldova held a car rally under the slogan “Glory to Ukraine!”, and Ukrainian singer Oleh Skrypka recorded a new song titled “Glory to the Heroes!”, in which this and other popular Ukrainian slogans are heard.

“Glory to Ukraine!” is not just a phrase often heard from the lips of Ukrainians; it is a symbol of the resilience of the Ukrainian people, their immortal spirit and will. Through the years, this slogan has carried important historical events to the present day, reminding us of our roots and true history.

Glory to Ukraine!