Sergei Mikhalkov

Sergey Mikhalkov
Mikhalkov celebrating his 90th birthday on 13 March 2003
Born	Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1913 Moscow, Russian Empire
Died	27 August 2009(2009-08-27) (aged 96) Moscow, Russian Federation
Resting place	Novodevichy Cemetery
Occupation	Chairman of the Union of Writers of the RSFSR, writer and lyricist, playwright
Years active	1935–2009
Known for	Lyricist for the Soviet and Russian anthems
Spouse(s)	Natalia Konchalovskaya (m. 1936–1988) Yulia Subbotina (m. 1997–2009)
Children	Nikita Mikhalkov Andrei Konchalovsky
Relatives	Mikhail Mikhalkov (brother)
Awards	Hero of Socialist Labour, Order of St. Andrew

Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (Russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Михалко́в; 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1913 − 27 August 2009) was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write the lyrics of his country's national anthem on three different occasions, spanning almost 60 years.

Mikhalkov was born in Moscow, Russian Empire, to Vladimir Alexandrovich Mikhalkov and Olga Mikhailovna (née Glebova). Mikhalkov stemmed from the noble family of Mikhalkovs and had tsarist admirals, governors, and princes among his grandparents. Since the 1930s, he has rivalled Korney Chukovsky, Samuil Marshak and Agniya Barto as the most popular poet writing for Russophone children. His poems about enormously tall "Uncle Styopa" ("Дядя Стёпа") enjoyed particular popularity. Uncle Styopa is a friendly policeman always ready to rescue cats stuck up trees, and to perform other helpful deeds. In English, his name translates as Uncle Steeple.

As a 29-year-old in 1942, Mikhalkov's work drew the attention of the Soviet Union's leader Joseph Stalin, who commissioned him to write lyrics for a new national anthem. At the time, the country was deeply embroiled in World War II and Stalin wanted a Russian theme for the national anthem, to replace the Internationale.

Mikhalkov penned words to accompany a musical score by the composer Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946) that became known as National Anthem of the Soviet Union. The new anthem was presented to Stalin in the summer of 1943 and was introduced as the country's new anthem on January 1, 1944.