Revolution and Anthem: The Baku Symphony

Dear Readers;

As humanity has developed, branched out, moved from religions to science, transformed from tribes to nations, and progressed from the concrete to the abstract throughout history, it has simultaneously created and journeyed with many values. One of the most important of these is music. There is a common saying: "Music is the food of the soul."

In its most difficult moments, humanity has needed national anthems to turn its struggle from despair to hope, from defeat to victory. Today, even in football matches, national anthems are sung to elevate the feeling of unity and solidarity, and to bind the spirits of the spectators with a sense of victory.

Human history was shaken by two universal revolutionary anthems, and it could not do without either of them: La Marseillaise and The Internationale.

MY UNIVERSITY YEARS AND THE ANTHEM “THE INTERNATIONALE”

I first encountered "The Internationale" anthem at university. Those were turbulent and painful years.

I can never forget that day. It was the day the university officially opened (September 1976). My two brothers, Sadi and İhsan Balamir, and I were staying together in a small room belonging to a Greek aunt in Erenköy. The elderly Greek aunt tolerated Sadi and me for a year, thinking we were temporary guests. Of course, I cannot deny İhsan's superior 'diplomatic' skill in this.

We took the suburban train from Erenköy to Kadıköy, and from there, a ferry to Kabataş Pier. İhsan was about to start his second year at the Faculty of Naval Architecture. Sadi Balamir and I were just beginning our university journey. Sadi headed to the Taşkışla Campus as he was a student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering; İhsan and I went to the Gümüşsuyu Campus.

The Gümüşsuyu Campus had only one entrance gate. When we entered, the revolutionary youths whom İhsan already knew were clustered in the middle of the long corridor. We joined them. According to the information they had received, right-wing nationalists were coming in large numbers to take over the campus or attempt to do so.

The entrance gate of İTÜ Gümüşsuyu Campus

The innocent and disciplined atmosphere of Kabataş Erkek Lisesi had vanished, and I found myself in an environment where the "tom-toms" of violence and conflict were being beaten... Classes had started. I didn't even know where my classroom was. Leaving İhsan and the revolutionary youths there would not have been in line with the "code" of friendship.

Different factions were intertwined: Dev-Sol, the Progressive Youth Association (IGD), Halkın Kurtuluşu (People's Liberation), Halkın Birliği (People's Unity - TİKKO-ML) were the most prominent. Strangely, we quickly blended in with each other. There was no need to memorize names, because everyone called each other "Hoca" (Teacher).

What was expected happened. We received news that a large group of right-wing nationalists was approaching the campus, arm-in-arm, with military discipline, firm steps, and shouting slogans. Sticks were passed from hand to hand. We all armed ourselves this way. Soon after, the right-wing group forced their way past the checkpoint of 2-3 police officers without identity checks and entered. In the narrow and long corridor, at a distance of 20-30 meters, the slogans "Down with Communists" and "Down with Fascists" echoed deafeningly, announcing a deadly conflict.

A few young people leading the revolutionary group stepped forward: "Come on, comrades! Let's teach the fascists a lesson!"

The revolutionary group moved. At that moment, an unexpected situation developed. Shots were fired at us from the right-wing crowd. The revolutionary group scattered in panic, running backward. İhsan and I headed to the second floor. The right-wing nationalists did not want to miss this opportunity. They split into groups and pursued us. İhsan found salvation by entering an amphitheater (classroom). I followed him in.

There was a class in the huge classroom. The blackboard was full of mathematical formulas. İhsan and I found a place and sat down. İhsan asked the student next to him what class it was. It turned out to be my class! This is how I encountered my first lesson under these circumstances.

Soon after, a stocky and short young man, whom I would later learn was a TİKKO member from Kars, entered the amphitheater: "Comrades, the fascists have attacked to take over the university. Everyone out, we will resist together!" His words were firm, his speech commanding.

The white-bearded Professor, who was excitedly and eagerly writing mathematical formulas on the blackboard, looked around with a bewildered expression. The amphitheater quickly emptied. Other amphitheaters had also been evacuated. The new university students, most of whom were well-behaved children from good families, were bewildered.

Just as cowboy riders herd cattle, the revolutionary youths herded the rookie students before them and directed them towards the point where the right-wing nationalists were. The right-wing group began to retreat in the face of hundreds of students coming from both corridors. At that moment, the anthem of the Internationale rose in a hum. This was the first time I had heard this anthem. I did not know the lyrics. İhsan accompanied the Internationale with his strong and beautiful voice.

Arise, ye prisoners of starvation!

Arise, ye wretched of the earth!

For justice thunders condemnation:

A better world's in birth!

No more tradition's chains shall bind us,

Arise, ye slaves, no more in thrall!

The earth shall rise on new foundations:

We have been naught, we shall be all!

'Tis the final conflict,

Let each stand in his place.

The International Soviet

Shall be the human race.

The words of the anthem sent shivers down my spine. When the words "hu-man-i-ty will be saved" were pronounced syllable by syllable and loudly, it was impossible not to be carried away by enthusiasm. If they had let me, I would have plunged into the midst of the right-wing nationalists alone and fought them to the death. Not just me, but everyone singing and listening to the anthem was in this state of mind.

Then, the revolutionaries attacked. The right-wing nationalists, realizing that weapons would no longer be of use, quickly left the campus and disappeared. The İTÜ Campus remained under the control of the revolutionaries.

That day, for the first time, I witnessed how anthems could affect the human soul, turn people into fearless warriors, and unite people regardless of political differences.

HOW WAS THE ANTHEM OF THE INTERNATIONALE BORN?

The original "Internationale" anthem is in French. It dates back to the years of the Paris Commune in 1871. The Prussian army had besieged Paris. Revolutionaries were resisting the invading army, neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street. One of them was a lyricist named Eugène Pottier.

Eugène Pottier

In June 1871, on a day when despair gripped souls, Eugène Pottier penned the lyrics of the Internationale anthem in his hiding room. Unfortunately, the Commune resistance was defeated, and Eugène Pottier sought refuge in England. From there, he went to America. When an amnesty was declared in 1880, he returned to France.

In 1888, the Belgian musician Pierre Degeyter composed the music for the lyrics of the Internationale anthem.

Pierre Degeyter

The Internationale was adopted by the Communist International (Comintern) as the anthem of the working class. Between 1918 and 1944, it became the national anthem of the Soviet Union. The song was also the official anthem of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Eugène Pottier said this about "The Internationale" anthem:

La politique nous separe                       Politics separates us

Et la chanson nous réunit                      The song (anthem) unites us

HOW WAS LA MARSEILLAISE BORN?

La Marseillaise was born as the anthem of the French Revolution of 1789. In the years following the revolution, European states ruled by monarchies and empires moved to stifle the French Bourgeois Revolution, which had sent their kings and queens to the guillotine, before it could fully take hold.

The French Revolutionary Army gathered in Strasbourg. It declared war on Austria. It was on the evening of such a day, on the night connecting April 25 to April 26 (1792), that Rouget de Lisle, both an officer and a writer, penned the lyrics and even composed the song before his comrades-in-arms.

Rouget de Lisle singing La Marseillaise to his friends

The song's original name was "War Song for the Army of the Rhine." As the war progressed, the revolutionary army needed soldiers. Volunteers from the southern city of Marseille set out for Paris. The volunteers entered Paris singing Rouget de Lisle's war song. The Parisians enthusiastically welcomed the volunteer soldiers. From that day on, the song's name remained "La Marseillaise" (meaning "The Song of the Marseillais").

Arise, children of the Fatherland,

The day of glory has arrived!

Against us, tyranny's

Bloody banner is raised!

Do you hear, in the countryside,

The roar of these ferocious soldiers?

They come right to our arms

To slit the throats of our sons, our wives!

To arms, citizens,

Form your battalions,

March, march!

Let impure blood

Water our furrows!

"La Marseillaise" was adopted as the national anthem of France in 1795. However, it was banned by Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Napoleon III on the grounds that it contained revolutionary ideas. "La Marseillaise" was re-declared the national anthem of France in 1879.

"La Marseillaise," just like "The Internationale," did not remain confined to France. It became famous as a revolutionary war anthem. Especially during the Spanish Civil War, which raged with full intensity between July 1936 and April 1939, Republicans and Communists strengthened their ranks by singing the Spanish version of "La Marseillaise" and resisted Franco.

THE BAKU SYMPHONY

The Russian Revolution of 1917 ushered in a new era in human history. Soon after, a brutal Civil War began between the Reds (Communists) and the Whites (Tsarist supporters). The Reds emerged victorious from the Civil War, which lasted from May 17, 1918, to October 25, 1922. The wave of victory swept across the Soviet Union from one end to the other, reaching all hearts.

It was on such a day that the 36-year-old Russian composer Arseny Avraamov decided to bring to life an unprecedented symphony, a first in human history. The bloody Civil War had just ended. The calendar showed November 7, 1922.

Russian composer Arseny Avraamov

Arseny Avraamov conceived the "victory" message of the revolution in his own unique and ingenious style. He took two red flags and climbed to the highest point of the city of Baku. He was the conductor, and the entire city was his orchestra, with every instrument at his command. Workers in factories, factory sirens, cannons on battleships anchored in the Caspian Sea, locomotives, artillery units, seaplanes, bells, marching bands—all turned their attention to the conductor Arseny Avraamov.

When the appointed time came, Arseny Avraamov waved the red flags in his hands and gave the command.

Arseny Avraamov conducting the Baku City Symphony with two red flags

The red flag waves. First, cannon fire is heard. Immediately after the fifth cannon shot, factory sirens shake the entire city with full force. When the fifteenth siren finishes, this time band sounds rise from all corners of the city, and crowds move towards the Caspian Sea coast accompanied by the band. With a wave of the flag, shrill sounds from the steam whistles of locomotives rise to the sky.

As Arseny Avraamov waved the red flag, the rattling sounds of machine guns mingled with other sounds and transcended the clouds. Arseny Avraamov had specially prepared fifty steam whistles for the city symphony. Suddenly, the whistles came into play. Arseny Avraamov waved the red flag again. Seaplanes rose from the Caspian Sea into the sky. The sounds of "Hurraaaaa!" rising from every corner of the city accompanied this. Suddenly a cannon fired. Silence fell over the city. Then, a choir voice from the depths gradually rose, echoing throughout the city and dancing in the skies of Baku. The song being sung was The Internationale.

Arseny Avraamov waved the red flags again. He gave another command. The marching band began to play. This time the song being sung was La Marseillaise. Cannons fired from ships in the sea, machine guns sang their own song. This was accompanied by the sounds of bells. Finally, the city symphony ended with the song The Internationale.

Humanity never again created a "City Symphony" of this magnitude, beauty, and spirit. Arseny Avraamov was forgotten. I wanted to make this important reminder to you and commemorate his memory.