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The Spirit of Irad

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"The Spirit of Irad" (Iradi: Irad Ruhu) is the national anthem of Irad. Its music was composed by Asan Jumabaev, known for his score for the film Desert Sun’s Rebellion (1979), to a poem by Cholpon Myrzakulova. Written during the Winter Uprising of 1992, it was sung at the proclamation of the Republic of Irad in Talas on 11 March 1992, adopted by the Provisional Government in May 1992 and confirmed by the interim Territorial Legislature of Irad in the State Symbols Act of 1993. It replaced the anthem of the Iradi Soviet Socialist Republic and has been retained by every later Iradi administration, including the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ). The official text is in Iradi, and an official English version was adopted in 1993.[1][2]

History

Soviet predecessor

Like the other union republics, the Iradi SSR adopted a state anthem in 1946, with a text in Iradi and Russian that praised the Soviet Union, the Russian people and Stalin. The text was revised in the late 1970s to remove the references to Stalin. It was rarely sung outside official ceremonies, but republican radio played it at the start and close of each broadcasting day until 1991. The Socialist Republic of Irad, proclaimed in Kobozev in October 1991, continued to use it.[3]

Composition (1991–1992)

Myrzakulova, then a lecturer in Iradi philology at Talas State University, wrote the poem in December 1991, when strikes and student protests in Talas were growing into the Winter Uprising. It was first printed in a student newspaper and circulated in typed copies. Jumabaev set it to music in January 1992. According to his later account, he based the opening phrase on a herding tune he had recorded in the Talas Alatau in the 1970s and wrote the refrain so that it could be sung by a crowd without accompaniment.[1]

The song was sung at rallies in Talas in February 1992, including at the funerals of those killed in the shootings of 3 February. According to accounts of the Talas Town Hall Meeting of 11 March, the assembly sang it after adopting the declaration that proclaimed the Republic of Irad, an occasion now marked as Irad Day (see March 11 Independence Day).[2][4]

Adoption

The Provisional Government adopted "The Spirit of Irad" as the national anthem by decree in May 1992, at the same time as the national flag. After the Alimbekov-Baker Treaty and the establishment of US territorial administration, the interim Territorial Legislature confirmed both symbols in the State Symbols Act of 1993. The act fixed the official music and the Iradi text, approved an official English version, and specified the arrangement to be used on state occasions.[2]

During the territorial period (see Territory of Irad (1992–2006)) the anthem was played together with "The Star-Spangled Banner" at official ceremonies attended by representatives of the federal government, as in other US territories, and the English version was often sung on those occasions. The Democratic Republic of Irad kept the anthem in December 2006, and the ISEZ administration has kept it since February 2007. The Iradi Freedom Society has not adopted an anthem of its own, and the song is also sung at clan gatherings in the Autonomous Tribal Regions.[5]

Music

The anthem is a slow hymn in common time. The official orchestral arrangement, recorded by the Talas Symphony Orchestra in 1993, is in B-flat major. Each stanza is set to a sixteen-bar verse, followed by an eight-bar refrain whose melody rises to the highest note of the anthem. Writers on the anthem have noted its narrow range and its regular phrases, which make it easy to sing, and the herding-tune character of the opening, built on repeated rising fourths.[1][6]

Several official arrangements exist:

  • the full orchestral version, with all three stanzas, lasting a little under three minutes;
  • a short version of the first stanza and refrain, about one minute twenty seconds long, used at sporting events and in broadcasting;
  • a military band arrangement used by the State Defense Corps;
  • a version with a solo komuz introduction, used by IradOne since the early 2000s.[2][6]

Text

The official Iradi text has three stanzas and a refrain. In the official description, the first stanza describes the mountains, rivers and horse herds of Irad. The second commemorates those who died for the country, with an allusion to the steppe custom of the riderless horse (see Fallen Rider Tradition). The third presents Polaris, the star called Irad in traditional cosmology, as a guide for the nation. The refrain addresses the "spirit" of the title and repeats the call to freedom that appears as the motto of the national flag.[2]

The official English version follows the Iradi text closely but does not rhyme. An unofficial Russian translation from the 1990s is sung by some older Russian-speaking Iradis (see Russos of Nurzhan), but it has no legal standing, and the Russian-language channel IradOdin plays the anthem without words.[5]

The third stanza's reference to the star as a guide sent by God has drawn objections. In the territorial period, Muslim community leaders in Nurzhan asked that schoolchildren not be required to sing it. Since 1997 school regulations in the ISEZ have required only the first stanza and refrain, and the short official version omits the third stanza.[5] (See Islam in Irad and Religion in Irad.)

Usage

The anthem is performed at the official ceremony in Talas on Irad Day, at the opening of each session of the Mejlis, at the inauguration of the Governor and at military ceremonies. IradOne plays it at the start and close of its broadcasting day. Schools in the ISEZ sing it at assemblies at the start of the school week. It is played before the final of the President's Cup in ulak tartysh at the Irad State Hippodrome each March. Because Irad is not a member of most international sporting bodies, it is rarely heard at international competitions.[2][5]

By convention, listeners stand. The practice of placing the right hand over the heart was introduced during the territorial period and is now usual among younger Iradis, while many older people stand at attention in the Soviet manner. In the tribal regions men remove their felt hats. The anthem has also been sung at demonstrations. According to the Talas Herald, protesters sang it during the 2023 Student Protests in Talas and at the demonstrations that followed the 2025 Trump Remarks on Irad.[7]

References

  1. ^ Talas State University Press (2012). A Song for the Uprising: The Making of "The Spirit of Irad". Talas, pp. 1–74.
  2. ^ Department of Public Information (2015). State Symbols of Irad: The Flag and the Anthem. Talas.
  3. ^ Talas State University Press (2011). Iradistan: A History of the Iradi SSR, 1925–1991. Talas, pp. 23–311.
  4. ^ Department of History, Talas State University (2017). The War of 1992: A Documentary History. Talas State University Press.
  5. ^ Central Asian Cultural Studies Review (2018). 'Singing the Suspended State: Anthem, Language and Faith in Irad.' Vol. 10, pp. 61–83.
  6. ^ Talas State University Press (2016). Music in Soviet and Territorial Talas, 1945–2006, pp. 91–118.
  7. ^ Talas Herald (2023; 2025). Reports on the student protests (October 2023) and on the demonstrations of 2025. Talas.
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