The anthem

An anthem is a ceremonial song accepted as a symbol of state and social unity.

The first official try to make an official russian anthem was in 1833 when Nicolay I ordered a group of poets and composers to compose it. Before ceremonial events were accompanied by church songs and in the time of Peter the Great - by military marches. Since the final of the reign of the first russian emperator and then in the time of the reign of his daughter Elizaveta Petrovna, the tune of the english anthem "God, keep the king" begun using. The ceremonial song of composer Dmitry Bortnyanskiy "Be famous" begun a concurention with the english one since the end of XVIII century. And so dual situation had been existing till the time of Nicolay.

God, keep the king

The closed contest for new russia anthem taked place by an order of Nicolay I in 1833. Nestor Kykolnik, Vasiliy Jhukovskiy and the others are some of poets taked part in the contest and Mihail Glinka, Aleksey Livov and the others from composers. As a result Lvov and Jhukovskiy pleased to the king. First it sounds like a pray and the anthem was called so - "A pray of russian nation". Second the tune is simple and easy-remembering, but everybody likes this. And finally the text is like the anthems of european monarchies.

Aleksey Fedorov Lvov comes from an old nobleman's famaly. There are several serves in his service record. The one is a serve in Arakcheev's military colonies and the second is a serve as a secretary of A.H. Benkendorf - a chief of jandarms. Almost all of his compositions sinked into oblivion, apart a one - "God, keep the king". Thanks to this one, he waked once as a famous person in Christmas of 1833. The future anthem was public performed and even the emperator was applauding himself. The rank of aide-de-camp was as an award for Lvov. He would become as a major-general of the suite of the emperator in 9 years. And after 40 years he be honoured with a honourable place between Glinka, Dragomijskiy, Rimskiy-Korsakov, Balakirev, Shopen, Oginsky on the allegorical picture of Repin "Slavic composers".

As for the text, it was told that Nikolay I wanted to the anthem would be the best one. Vasiliy Jhukovskiy was torned himself about this problem. The first poetry was ready, the tracing from the english one. According to hearing, Pushkin promted him. It was "Дай на земли / Гордых смирителю, / Слабых хранителю, / Всех утешителю, / Все ниспошли". Mihail Glinka was not also the last one among the goverment figures, he was the director of courtier emperator's choir, i.e. he was the main official musician of Russia. He offered two variants. First the final chorus from his opera "The life to king" (not long called "Ivan Susanin") as the official anthem. And the second variant is "Patriotic song" based on poetry of Jhukovskiy. They both were refused and Glinko broke down.

God, keep the king

Music by Aleksey Lvov, poetry by Vasily Jhukovskiy.

Soviet anthems

The anthem accepted in 1833 had been existed till the revolution in February 1917. Then the tune "Marselieza" (the main song of the Great Franch Bourgeois Revolution) was begun using as an anthem. However, the text was another, not the translation but not less revolutionary: "Disown from old world". This was the russian anthem in the first month of the soviet power.

"International" used as an anthem of RSFSR and USSR till january 1, 1994 came to change it when the anthem by Aleksandrov based on Mikhalkov's and Rezanov's poetry (composed in 1936 as "The anthem of Bolsheviks' group") sounded. A new variant of the text was written in 1944 and according to musicologists, the tune was touched up, too.

The text where Stalin was mentioned several times went to background after 20th congress of C.P.S.U. Witers even called the anthem as "the song without words". Next variant of words corrected by the same authors proved in 1977 after acceptance a new constitution of USSR.

The Anthem of USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republic)

The music by Georhy Aleksandrov, the poetry by Sergey Mihalkov.

Nevertheless the Glinka's tune became as the anthem of a new democratic Russia in 1991 after almost 200 years. "The condition about the anthem of the Russian Federation" was approved by an order of the president Elcin. According to that condition the tune created on the basis of "Patriotic song" was the anthem.

According to the constitution of 1993, the state symbols (state emblem, flag and anthem) and an order of using they were setting by a federal constitutional law. But all tries to pass such law throught the State Duma were refused by the left majority for Boris Elcin. That time the comunists were regular trying to recover soviet symbols, however they had no enought votes (they were need at last 300 votes to accept the law).

The supporters of the soviet symbolics guessed to split the document into three parts in the spring of 1999 . They turned out well an acceptance of the proect of law "About the anthem of the Russian Federation" in the first reading. That proect was accepted in whole by the present duma in December 8, 2000.

The Aleksandrov's tune was became as the anthem of the Russian Federation again in December 20, 2000.

The Russia Anthem

The music by Georgiy Aleksandrov, new poetry by Sergey Mihalkov.