; the journal mistakenly attributed the anthem to Taras Shevchenko. It became popular in the territories which now form part of Western Ukraine, and came to the attention of a member of the Ukrainian clergy, Mykhailo Verbytsky of the Greek-Catholic Church. Inspired by Chubynsky's poem, Verbytsky, then a prominent composer in Ukraine, decided to set it to music. The poem was first published with Verbytsky's sheet music In 1865. The first choral performance of the piece was in 1864 at the in Lviv. The first recording of this anthem (then spelled "") in Ukrainian was released on a gramophone record by Columbia Phonograph Company during World War I in 1916. As a folk song it was performed by a Ukrainian emigrant from Lviv and New York resident Mychajlo Zazulak in 1915. Early use Chubynsky's poem wasn't used as a state anthem until 1917, when it was adopted by the Ukrainian Republic. Still, even between 1917 and 1921, this anthem was not legislatively adopted as an exclusive state anthem as other anthems were also used at the time. Ukraine's anthem during the Soviet period In 1922, the Ukrainian SSR signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR with the Russian SFSR, Transcaucasian SFSR and Byelorussian SSR, which created the Soviet Union. Following the signing of the treaty, the anthem was banned by the Soviet regime. The authorities later decided that each separate Soviet republic could have its own anthem, but "" was rejected in an attempt to help to suppress separatist sentiments held by Ukrainian Nationalists. In 1939, "" was adopted as the official state anthem of Carpatho-Ukraine. After Joseph Stalin ordered The Internationale to be replaced with a new Soviet anthem in 1944, the other republics of the union were expected to produce their own as well. The Ukrainian government established a commission on the anthem in February 23, 1944. Soviet authorities, after a period of struggle, successfully persuaded public intellectuals to create an anthem with lyrics fitting their political interests and music sterile of any Ukrainian national elements. On February 23, the Ukrainian chairman Mykhailo Hrechukha started a meeting by reading a synopsis of the anthem-to-be in front of musicians and litterateurs: The Ukrainian nation's union with the Soviets were envisaged for the first stanza; the Ukrainian people, their struggles, and freedom under Lenin and Stalin were envisaged for the second stanza; Ukraine's economic and political flourishing in