Vpered Teyloriya

Vpered Teyloriya is the national anthem of Tayloria. It uses the same melody as “To Serve Russia”.

Controversy
Interviewed by the Oral History Department in 1989, Leonid Fedorov said it was appropriate for the national anthem to be in Russian, "as English is not native to this part of the world." He felt that the "Russian version of the national anthem would appeal to all races... it can be easily understood. And at the same time [it] can be easily remembered... . [I]t must be brief, to the point;... and can be sung". However, on 22 July 1991, the English daily newspaper Taylor City Times reported that during a meeting between the then President Noguchi Osamu and community leaders, a group of grassroots leaders and a lawyer had suggested that "adjustments" be made to the national anthem. The given reason was that many Taylorians could not sing it in Russian and so did not have "strong feelings" or "strong emotions when they sing the national anthem".

In particular, some grassroots leaders argued that since the Japanese constitute a majority of the population, a Japanese version of the anthem should be used. The President's response was that he would keep the national anthem as it was but would ensure that translations in other mother tongues were more easily available. The proposal to change the lyrics was also criticized by former Vice President Kolzak Novikov, who felt that the Russian lyrics of the anthem were so simple that "anyone over the age of five, unless mentally retarded, had no difficulty singing the anthem. All Taylorian children of kindergarten age have not only had no difficulty memorising the words but have for decades sung it every morning with 'strong feelings and emotion'." He also noted that the anthem had been translated into Tayloria’s four other official languages (English, French, Spanish, and Japanese) for those who cannot understand Russian.

A subsequent poll by The Taylor City Times found that while many Taylorians knew what the anthem generally meant, only seven out of 35 persons interviewed knew the meaning of each word. However, all but three of those interviewed agreed that the anthem should continue to be sung in Russian. The three persons who disagreed felt that the anthem should be in English because that was the language most commonly used in Tayloria. All the interviewees, including those who did not know the meaning of the lyrics, said they felt a sense of pride when they heard or sang the national anthem.

Singer Kinoshita Gorou was criticised for incorrectly singing the anthem during his rendition of Vpered Tayloria before the start of the 2009 Formula 1 Tayloria Grand Prix on 27 September 2009. A Taylor City Times poll then found that out of 50 people only 10 were able to sing the national anthem perfectly. Most people got between 80 and 90% of the lyrics right, while six could recite only the first line or less. Although many correctly stated that the title of the anthem meant "Onward Tayloria", a majority did not understand the meaning of the anthem. However, most of the persons surveyed disagreed that the anthem should be in English, with one respondent saying: "It's better in Russian because there's a cultural history to it and [it] is more meaningful, and has traces to our roots."