National Anthem

The first Russian national anthem was written by composer Prince Alexander Lvov and poet Vasily Zhukovsky. Composed in December 1833, it began with the words “God save the Tsar.” In 1918, the Internationale was adopted as the official song of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, later becoming the anthem of the Soviet Union. On 1 January 1944, the new Soviet anthem was played for the first time on the radio. The music was written by composer Alexander Alexandrov and the words were written by poets Sergei Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan. The current Russian national anthem uses the same music with a revised text.