National Anthem of the Soviet Union
| English: State Anthem of the USSR | |
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State anthem of  Russian SFSR Soviet Union
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| Lyrics | Gabriel El-Registan, Sergey Mikhalkov (BOI1943 and 1977) |
| Music | Alexander Alexandrov, 1938 (?) |
| Adopted | 1 January 1944 1 September 1977 (modified version) |
| Relinquished | 26 December 1991 (as anthem of the Soviet Union) 23 November 1990 (as anthem of the Russian SFSR) |
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Slav’sya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye! (Russian: Славься, Отечество наше свободное!; Slav’sya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye!, lit. "Be glorious, our free Fatherland!"), officially known as the "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" (Russian: Государственный гимн СССР, tr. Gosudarstvenny Gimn SSSR) was introduced during World War II on 15 March 1944, replacing The Internationale as the official anthem of the Soviet Union and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The lyrics were written by Sergey Mikhalkov (1913–2009) in collaboration with Gabriel El-Registan (1899–1945) and the music was composed by Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946). Although the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, its national anthem's melody continues to be used in the Russian Federation's national anthem, which has lyrics different from the Soviet one.
The Anthem of the Soviet Union was played for the first time on the Soviet radio at midnight on 1 January 1944. The 1944 lyrics had three different refrains following three different stanzas; in each refrain, the second line was consequently modified with references to friendship, then happiness and finally to glory. Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union's war against Nazi Germany were originally invoked in the lyrics.
With the process of de-Stalinization inaugurated after Stalin's death, the lyrics which referred to Stalin were considered unacceptable and during 1953–1977 the anthem was performed without lyrics. A notable exception took place at the 1976 Canada Cup ice hockey tournament, where the singer Roger Doucet insisted on performing the anthem with lyrics, after consultations with Russian studies scholars from Université de Montréal and the Soviet team officials. In 1977, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, revised lyrics, earlier written in 1970 by the original author Sergey Mikhalkov, were adopted. The varying refrains were replaced by a uniform refrain following all stanzas; the line praising Stalin was dropped, as were the lines referring to the Great Patriotic War.
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