Maksim Bahdanovič

Maksim Adamavich Bahdanovich (, ; ; 9 December 1891 – 25 May 1917) was a Belarusian poet, journalist, translator, literary critic and historian of literature. He is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literature.

Life Bahdanovich was born in Minsk in the family of Adam Bahdanovič, an important Belarusian ethnographer, who through most of his career worked as a bank clerk. The music was written by a Belarusian composer and immigrant activist Mikalay Shchahlou-Kulikovich. The song was originally meant to be sung a capella. Mikola Ravienski, and Vladimir Mulyavin also wrote their own musical arrangements.

In 2020, the "Pahonia" anthem and the poem resurged in popularity as one of the symbols of the 2020 Belarusian protests against the Lukashenko regime, along with the white-red-white flag. The anthem was spontaneously performed in several public places: near the Belarusian State Philharmonic, in malls, in the Minsk subway, at the Minsk , and at the Minsk railway station.