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MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's revived Soviet-era national anthem, which once praised the atheist Communist Party and dictator Josef Stalin, now celebrates Russia as a ``holy country'' that is ``protected by God.''
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday approved the new version, written by the same person who co-authored the old lyrics, poet Sergei Mikhalkov.
``Russia, our holy country!'' the new anthem begins. It goes on to praise the country's vast ``forests and fields ... from the southern seas to the polar region.''
The Soviet-era music was revived earlier this month by the Russian parliament, replacing the wordless anthem by 19th-century composer Mikhail Glinka that had been in use since the collapse of the Soviet Union nearly a decade ago.
Putin and the legislature agreed to revive the old anthem, saying the Glinka tune didn't have any words and was too hard to sing anyway.
But they needed new lyrics, because the old Soviet anthem's praise for the Communist Party was no longer considered appropriate after the 1991 collapse of communism.
Putin accepted the recommendation of an advisory committee, which favored new words from the 87-year-old Mikhalkov. The new hymn and words are expected to be played publicly for the first time on New Year's Eve.
Mikhalkov co-wrote the first version praising Stalin, Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin and the Communist Party. He later did another version removing Stalin's name after the dictator's memory became politically unpalatable. Stalin, who died in 1953, carried out political repressions that historians say killed tens of millions of people.
The new lyrics' reference to God would have been unthinkable under the Communists, who enforced a policy of official atheism and persecuted religious believers. The last anthem to mention God was ``God Save the Czar,'' used by the regime that collapsed in 1917.
But unlike ``God Save The Czar,'' which refers to the ``Orthodox czar,'' the anthem doesn't specify any particular faith. Russia's dominant religion is Orthodox Christianity, but religious minorities include Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Catholics, and Protestants.
One line offers something to those nostalgic for the Soviet Union. It refers to Russia as an ``eternal union of fraternal peoples,'' words similar to the old version, which refers to ``an unbreakable union'' of ``peoples in brotherhood strong.''
Liberal politicians and some cultural figures have assailed the reinstatement of the Soviet music, saying it invokes the memory of totalitarian rule and political repression. Former President Boris Yeltsin blocked Communist attempts to bring back the old tune, written by Alexander Alexandrov in 1944.
Putin, elected March 26, has been more willing to accept symbols of the Soviet past. He agreed on a compromise under which the old anthem would be restored, while Russia would keep the post-Soviet tricolor flag and the state coat of arms with the czarist double-headed eagle.
Anthem of the Russian Federation. Music by Alexander Alexandrov, 1944, words by Sergei Mikhalkov, 2000.
Russia, our holy country! Russia, our beloved country! A mighty will, a great glory, Are your inheritance for all time! Refrain: Be glorious, our free Fatherland! Eternal union of fraternal peoples, Common wisdom given by our forebears, Be glorious, our country! We are proud of you! From the southern seas to the polar region spread our forests and fields. You are unique in the world, inimitable, Native land protected by God! (Repeat refrain) Wide spaces for dreams and for living Are opened for us by the coming years Faithfulness to our country gives us strength Thus it was, so it is and always will be! (Repeat refrain)
From ``Anthem of the Soviet Union,'' music by Alexander Alexandrov, 1944, words by S.V. Mikhalkov and G.A. Registan.
Unbreakable union of freeborn republics, Great Russia has welded forever to stand. Created in struggle by will of the people, United and mighty, our Soviet land! Sing to the Motherland, home of the free, Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong. O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people, To Communism's triumph lead us on!
"... from the southern seas to the polar region."
These words wouldn't be set to the tune of "God Bless America" would it?
Wasn't it the founder of the Salvation Army who wrote hymns set to popular musical scores, and defended the practice by saying, "Why should the devil have all the good tunes?"
Don't know who it was but I've heard that quote before.
Where did you get the new lyrics? Do you have them in Russian as well?
What, no "amber waves of grain"?!
It's cool they mention God in their national anthem. Gasp!
MOSCOW, Dec 27, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) By law, it must be broadcast on state television every morning and every night. Men must take off their hats and everyone has to face the Russian flag, or else.
Thus, Russians woke up Wednesday to a new national anthem, the familiar Soviet song -- but without its Communist-era lyrics -- that was personally lobbied for by President Vladimir Putin.
Signed into law by Putin on Tuesday the booming tune replaces the mellow 19th century tune written by Mikhail Glinka favored by Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin.
And in another echo of the Soviet era, the new anthem came with some rather strict rules attached.
The hymn will be broadcast by state television "at 0600 and 2400 hours, according to local time," and at the start of morning broadcasts by other broadcasters, the law published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta reads.
"When the national hymn of the Russian Federation is played at official events, everyone present will listen to it standing up -- the men, without their head gear."
Those who break the rules -- which are set out in 11 separate statutes -- will be subject to punishment according to Russian law.
It was not immediately clear what sentence that punishment carries, although desecration of the Russian flag and emblem carries a prison term of up to one year, according to the post-Soviet 1993 constitution.
The constitution makes no mention of the national anthem, which has been the subject of fierce partisan debate since Communism's fall in 1991.
The law further stipulates that the hymn may only be played by an orchestra, choir, or in other "vocal variations" -- apparently scratching any string quartets from the Russian anthem playlist.
A further 11 statutes set out the rules of use for Russia's red, white and blue tri-color flag. The law governing the use of the officially adopted tsarist-era national emblem, the two-headed golden eagle, is subject to 12 strict conditions.
Although the texts published Wednesday are likely to spark a backlash among Russia's liberals, who detect the refrains of Stalin gulags in the Soviet-era music, it seems well-liked by the public at large.
"We must not forget that we are speaking about the majority of Russians," who favor the Soviet version, Putin said when revealing his anthem preferences in a December 4 national address.
"However, I concede that it is possible that we are wrong," added Putin, a view vehemently supported by figures such as Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal opposition Yabloko faction, and former economy chief Anatoly Chubais.
However, opinion polls show more than half of Russians support the move to bring back the Soviet-era melody, whose original words extoll the virtues of the former regime by proclaiming it an "unbreakable union ... united and mighty."
Meanwhile Glinka's anthem never fully caught on in post-Soviet Russia, partly because it lacked lyrics.
Putin has formed a 12-member commission of lawmakers, ministers and Kremlin bureaucrats who will present new lyrics for presidential approval next year, to replace the communist-era bombast of the rehabilitated anthem. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)
I hear that they have prayer in public schools....who would have ever "thunk it"????
Thanks! I found the version in Russian at www.pravda.ru/main/2000/12/30/22158.html
Those who are familiar with the 1944 Soviet anthem will notice that the first line of the refrain has not changed. Also the AP translation is not entirely true: the anthem starts with Russia -- our holy state,[derzhava] and not country [strana]. The translation also calls people's wisdom [mudrost' narodnaya] "common wisdom."
Ah, very good...glad you found it!
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