Pycckuù      Russian  Anthems  museum   Welcome! The main page of the museum contains all Russian and Soviet national anthems, then a collection of music and songs connected to them in some way, followed by a few musical pieces and songs that were partially used as anthems but never achieved the official status. Separate pages present the Internationale in many languages, anthems of Union republics, and use of “God Save the Tsar” in Tchaikovsky’s music. Currently there are 442 audio and video records in the museum.    My favorite old quote about this museum:  “As you can clearly see, Russian anthem technology is vastly superior to that of any other country.”

Webmasters: please link to this page and not directly to the audio files (their addresses are changed randomly from time to time).

Title of anthem and portrait of the state leader at the time the anthem was introduced	Year of intro- duction	Listen	Lyrics & comments
Anthem of Russia (in use now)	2000	Choir and orchestra MP3 (9.0MB, 3:51, 320kbps) by the State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Felix Korobov, and joint choir of the Bolshoi Theatre and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre (from CD single “Anthem of Russian Federation, Anthem of Moscow”, 2002) | MP3 (5.9MB, 4:10, 192kbps) — same performers, another tempo and key (from “Gimny” CD set, 2002) MP3 (5.2MB, 3:44, 192kbps) by the Presidential Orchestra conducted by Pavel Ovsyannikov and Moscow Kremlin Choir directed by Gennady Dmitryak (official recording, 2001, from the Russian Government website) MP3  (3.0MB, 3:10, 128kbps) by children’s choir of Mariinsky Theatre MP3 (8.4MB, 3:35, 320kbps) by the Alexandrov Soviet Army Ensemble, conductor Vyacheslav Korobko (from CD single “Anthem of Russia”, 2004; recorded on April 25, 2004; this record was made in a way closely resembling the official recording of Soviet anthem by the same ensemble in 1944, then conducted by Alexander Alexandrov) MP3 (4.9MB, 3:30, 192kbps) by Children’s choir of TV and radio of St. Petersburg MP3 (8.2MB, 3:29, 320kbps) by the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Interior Troops of the Russian Interior Ministry, conducted by Victor Kuznetsov (from CD “Doswidanja — Ich Komm Wieder. Moskauer Staatsensemble”, 2003; recorded in 2003; arranged by Gen. Victor Eliseev) MP3 (3.0MB, 3:15, 128kbps) by Sveshnikov choir MP3 (3.1MB, 3:15, 128kbps) by Mariinsky Theatre MP3 (3.5MB, 3:46, 128kbps) by Russian State Symphony Cappella (cond. V. Polyansky) and Ossipov orchestra of folk instruments MP3 (4.9MB, 3:30, 192kbps) (used on Radio Russia starting in spring 2003) MP3 (4.9MB, 3:29, 192kbps) (performed during Russia’s Independence Day celebration in Moscow on June 12, 2003) Solos MP3 (3.1MB, 3:14, 128kbps) (first public performance with words, broadcast on TV on New Year’s night January 1, 2001 at 00:00; I wonder who sings it?) MP3 (4.5MB, 3:10, 192kbps) — first refrain skipped, in Russian folk-style, by Nadezhda Babkina (recorded from daily broadcast of anthem on Radio Troyka, 2003) | MP3 (3.0MB, 3:11, 128kbps) — version with modified first line (“Russia — our great state...”) (2002) MP3 (6.5MB, 3:26, 256kbps) — rock style, by Lubeh group, soloist Nikolay Rastorguev (from CD “Lubeh Rasseya”, 2005) MP3 (1.8MB, 1:52, 128kbps) — first verse; by Larisa Dolina (from singer’s website, 2005) | MP3 (4.2MB, 4:27, 128kbps) — full version (from singer’s website, 2005) | MP3 (7.2MB, 4:14, vbr232kbps) (recorded from daily broadcast of anthem on Russian Radio in March 2005) MP3 (5.6MB, 3:00, vbr255kbps) by Nikolai Noskov (recorded from daily broadcast of anthem on Russian Radio in February 2005) MP3 (2.9MB, 3:07, 128kbps) by Anita Tsoy (from singer’s website, 2005; comment from singer’s website: “Recently a fan came up to Anita after a concert where she sung the anthem, and said to her: ‘What a classy song about Russia you’ve written!’ :-)”) | MP3 (5.2MB, 2:43, vbr262kbps) (recorded from daily broadcast of anthem on Russian Radio in February 2005) MP3 (5.6MB, 3:57, 192kbps) by Helmut Lotti (from CD “From Russia With Love”; recorded in 2004; Helmut: “As a child, I used to watch the medal ceremony on the Olympic Games with amazement. It sometimes seemed like Russia won everything. Therefore I often heard their anthem. And the more I heard it, the more medals they should have won in my opinion. Because their national hymn always gave me goose bumps and every time I heard it, I turned the television up. Being allowed to sing this hymn myself is an immense, almost indescribable honour for me.”) MP3 (3.4MB, 2:24, 192kbps) — middle verse skipped, by Lev Leschenko (performed before the football match Russia—Wales in Moscow on November 15, 2003) MP3 (2.6MB, 1:07, 320kbps) by a female singer from Musikhochschule Essen (performed before the warm-up football match Germany—Russia in Mönchengladbach on June 8, 2005) Unaccompanied (or almost unaccompanied) vocal MP3 (3.8MB, 2:41, 192kbps) by the joint military orchestra of the Moscow Garrison (sung on the parade in Moscow on May 9, 2003) MP3 (3.4MB, 3:36, 128kbps) by the Academic choir of Moscow State Social University (MSSU), with piano accompaniment Instrumental recordings MP3 (1.9MB, 1:22, 192kbps) by the Presidential Orchestra conducted by Pavel Ovsyannikov (official recording, 2001, from the Russian Government website) | MP3 (5.1MB, 3:36, 192kbps) — three-verse version MP3 (6.0MB, 2:34, 320kbps) by the State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Felix Korobov (from CD single “Anthem of Russian Federation, Anthem of Moscow”, 2002) | MP3 (2.1MB, 1:31, 192kbps) — same performers, another tempo and key (from “Gimny” CD set, 2002; this recording is two verses long on the CD, but has been shortened to one verse for the museum) MP3 (3.3MB, 1:24, 320kbps) by the Alexandrov Soviet Army Ensemble, conductor Vyacheslav Korobko (from CD single “Anthem of Russia”, 2004; recorded on April 25, 2004; this record was made in a way closely resembling the official recording of Soviet anthem by the same ensemble in 1944, then conducted by Alexander Alexandrov) MP3 (2.2MB, 1:11, 256kbps) by the Orchestra of the Honour Guard of the Moscow Garrison (from Russian CD “Marches”, 2003; recorded likely before 2001; opened and concluded broadcasts of state TV channel “RTR” in 2001) MP3 (1.1MB, 1:10, 128kbps) by Orchestra of Defence ministry (opened and concluded broadcasts of state TV channel “RTR” in 2003) MP3 (5.2MB, 2:13, 320kbps) — two verse version; by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Breiner (from CD set “The Complete National Anthems of the World 2005”, CD 7; recorded in 2004) | MP3 (2.9MB, 1:15, 320kbps) — one verse version from the same CD (this one was probably used on the Athens 2004 Olympics) | MP3 (5.0MB, 2:08, 320kbps) — two verse version in another arrangement, from the same CD MP3 (2.1MB, 1:08, 256kbps) by the United States Navy Band (from the library of national anthems for official use by U.S. government, 2001) MP3 (5.1MB, 2:12, 320kbps) by the Hollywood Studio Orchestra (from CD “National Anthems”, 2002) MP3 (1.8MB, 1:53, 128kbps) played on organ with carillon stop, or on a MIDI synthesizer? (M. Events, album “Church”, 2002 (? not sure if these details are correct) MP3 (1.6MB, 1:06, 192kbps) played on piano by Gilbert De Greeve (from German CD “Die Hymnen der Welt 1 — Europa”, 2001) MP3 (2.1MB, 2:12, 128kbps) (first public broadcast after re-introduction as the anthem, broadcast on December 27, 2000 on “Radio of Russia”; continued to be used on this radio until February 2001)	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Sergey Mikhalkov Russian English Chinese Sheet music (PDF, 1.6MB) — official edition (2001), arranged by Pavel Ovsyannikov Snafus in print
		Videos — clips from Russian and Soviet TV channels, New Year addresses by the state leader, military parades, Olympic gold.
		The museum is searching for audio recordings and other materials from the competition for the anthem words and music held from 1991 through 2000. It doesn’t matter whether your recordings are of professional quality or not, we can accept them all.
Anthem of Russia	1991	MP3 (2.4MB, 1:18, 256kbps) by the Brass Band of the Ministry of Defence, conducted by Victor Afanasiev (the “most official” recording of this anthem; was used everywhere, e.g.: on Radio Russia from January 1, 1994 till December 2000; recorded likely in 1993) MP3 (2.0MB, 1:24, 192kbps) by “Swarowski Musik Wattens” orchestra (from Austrian CD “Die Nationalhymnen Europas”, 1999) MP3 (1.5MB, 1:34, 128kbps) WAV (1.1MB, 1:20) by Ossipov orchestra of folk instruments (from CD “The Best of Russian Classical Music”, 1994) MP3 (3.6MB, 1:31, 320kbps) by New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa (from CD “Music of the World”, 1997, which was the official anthem CD of the 1998 Olympics) MP3 (3.2MB, 1:22, 320kbps) by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Breiner (from CD set “The Complete National Anthems of the World 1998”, CD 5; recorded in 1994) MP3 (2.0MB, 1:24, 192kbps) by Prague Castle Guard and Police Orchestra (from CD “Music For Festive Occasions”, 1995) MP3 (2.2MB, 1:32, 192kbps) by The Central Band of the Royal Air Force (from French CD “60 National Anthems”, 2001; recorded in 1999)	music by Mikhail Glinka The anthem never had lyrics (some proposals of lyrics are listed in the next section) In 1990 it was approved as the anthem of RSFSR. The music has been known under the title “Patriotic Song” since 1944 (see in the next section); originally composed in the 1830s.
Anthem of Soviet Union	1977	MP3 (6.5MB, 3:29, 256kbps) | RealAudio (3:29, 40kbps) by the choir and orchestra of Bolshoi Theatre, conductor Yuri Simonov (from CD “National Anthems of the USSR and Union Republics”) MP3 (8.8MB, 3:45, 320kbps) by the Red Army Choir MP3 (1.2MB, 1:14, 128kbps) — first verse, by the Alexandrov Soviet Army Ensemble (Red Army Choir), conducted by Col. Igor Agafonnikov (1989) MP3 (1.2MB, 1:14, 128kbps) — first verse, by children’s choir (1980) MP3 (1.5MB, 1:36, 128kbps) — first verse MP3 (1.5MB, 1:35, 128kbps) — first verse, by the Red Army Choir In other languages Lithuanian: MP3 (3.1MB, 3:19, 128kbps) Hungarian: MP3 (1.1MB, 1:10, 128kbps) — first verse, by Hungarian Radio & Television Chorus and Budapest Philharmonic State Orchestra (1978) Instrumental recordings MP3 (4.8MB, 3:23, vbr192kbps) by the Orchestra of the Ministry of Defence, conductor N. Mikhailov (official recording, 1977, from a Soviet LP) | MP3 (1.8MB, 1:12, vbr221kbps) — one-verse version MP3  (1.0MB, 1:05, 128kbps) by symphony orchestra of German Federal Army (1989) MP3 (1.4MB, 1:01, 192kbps) | MP3 (1.0MB, 1:04, 128kbps) by the American Brass Band (1989; the former record is taken from German CD “Nationalhymnen — National Anthems” released in 2002) MP3 (1.5MB, 1:02, 192kbps) by O.N.U. Orchestra (from CD “National Anthems of the World”, 1996) MP3 (1.4MB, 1:30, 128kbps) by German-Soviet Young Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by V. Gergiev (played on official concert honouring President M. Gorbachev on June 11, 1989) MP3 (9.5MB, 4:03, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (recorded in 1995) | MP3 (1.4MB, 1:27, 128kbps) — short version (assembled from the recording of the full version, 1995) MP3 (1.1MB, 1:11, 128kbps) by the Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards conducted by Major Roger Graham Swift (from CD “Collections of National Anthems, Vol. 1”, 1990) MP3 (4.0MB, 2:49, 192kbps) (played on the parade in Moscow on May 9, 1985, forty years since Victory) MP3 (1.5MB, 1:03, 192kbps) by the band of the guards regiment “Felix Dzerzhinsky” (Ministry of State Security, East Germany), conducted by Günter Krause (from German CD “Dem Morgenrot entgegen” released in 1995) MP3 (2.1MB, 1:29, 192kbps) by the orchestra of Polish Army, conducted by Arnold Bezler (from German CD “The (Former) Anthems of (Former) Socialist Countries”, 2002) MP3 (1.1MB, 1:07, 128kbps) by the Symphony orchestra of the Hungarian Radio (1977) MP3 (2.2MB, 2:20, 128kbps) by the Central Band of The Royal Australian Air Force MP3 (2.2MB, 2:20, 128kbps) by the Brass Band of the Orchestra of the Vienna City Opera (from CD released in 1994) MP3 (1.3MB, 1:22, 128kbps) played on piano by Reinhard Popp	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Sergey Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan Russian English Lithuanian Latvian, Estonian French Hebrew Sheet music (PDF, 740KB) — official edition Score for a wind band (PDF, 980KB; courtesy partita.ru)
		Anthems of Union republics... — quality recordings of the 14 state anthems of the republics that made up the USSR.
Anthem of Soviet Union	1955	MP3 (2.3MB, 1:14, 256kbps) — short version, by the Brass Band of the USSR Ministry of Defence, conductor N. Nazarov (recorded in 1968) | MP3 (5.9MB, 3:09, 256kbps) — full version (from Soviet LP “National Anthems”, mother record no. 1655a, 1968) MP3 (4.4MB, 3:08, 192kbps) by the Symphony orchestra of All-Union Radio, conductor N. Anosov (from Soviet LP, mother record no. 14457, 1964) MP3 (1.9MB, 1:21, 192kbps) (probably from 1968—1977) I’m not sure if the following instrumental recordings are from 1955—1977: MP3 (1.0MB, 1:05, 128kbps) by a military band	music by Alexander Alexandrov The music was performed without words this time, because the old lyrics referring to Stalin was politically unacceptable.
Anthem of Soviet Union (“Stalin’s”)	1944	MP3 (5.4MB, 3:16, 224kbps) by the Red Army Ensemble, conducted by Alexander Alexandrov (mother record no. 11954, 1944) MP3 (6.4MB, 3:24, 256kbps) by Patriarchal choir conducted by Viktor Komarov, accompanied by organ (anthem performed on July 16, 1948 on the concert dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the autocephalous status of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire. The concert recording was restored from a poorly preserved copy and published on double CD “Great precentors of the 20th century. Patriarchal choir. Conductor Viktor S. Komarov” by the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra in 2003) MP3 (2.0MB, 2:08, 128kbps) — without middle verse, which was cut out from this record by somebody MP3 (1.1MB, 1:13, 128kbps) — first verse In other languages English: MP3  (3.8MB, 4:00, 128kbps) by Paul Robeson and Keynote Orchestra and Chorus (from CD “Songs for Free Men 1940—1945”, 1997; recorded in 1945) German (words hard to discern): MP3 (2.5MB, 2:39, 128kbps) by Berlin Radio Chorus & Symphony Orchestra Hungarian: MP3 (1.1MB, 1:10, 128kbps) — first verse, by chorus and symphony orchestra of the Hungarian radio conducted by Andras Korodi (1971) Instrumental recordings MP3 (1.5MB, 3:16, 64kbps) | MP3 (1.5MB, 3:06, 64kbps) by the Orchestra of GABT USSR, conducted by A.M. Pazovsky (mother record no. 11955, 1944) MP3 (2.6MB, 1:52, 192kbps) (from Soviet documentary “The Victory Parade”; recorded on the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945) MP3 (960KB, 1:01, 128kbps) by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult (1944; the order to broadcast the anthem in the UK was given by Winston Churchill)	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Sergey Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan Russian English — translated by Paul Robeson German Hungarian French Spanish Sheet music (PDF, 150KB; courtesy Russian Planet) — English/Russian, translated by Olga Paul Musical origin: Hymn of the Bolshevik Party composed by Alexandrov in 1939, and his earlier songs (see in the next section)
The Internationale	ca.1918	Soviet recordings by choir and orchestra MP3 (5.6MB, 3:59, 192kbps) | RealAudio (4:06, 40kbps) by the choir and orchestra of Bolshoi Theatre, conducted by G. Rozhdestvensky (1977) MP3 (7.4MB, 3:58, 256kbps) by the choir and orchestra of Soviet radio, conducted by A. Gauk (from CD “Songs of Russian Proletariat”, 1998; recorded in 1956) Soviet instrumental recordings MP3 (6.4MB, 4:29, vbr196kbps) by the Orchestra of the Ministry of Defence, conductor N. Nazarov (1977) | MP3 (3.0MB, 1:33, vbr202kbps) — one-verse version	music by Pierre Degeyter words by Eugène Pottier Russian (strophae 3 through 5 are actually not in the anthem)
		Separate section on the Internationale... — sung in 40+ other languages, more instrumental recordings, more recordings in Russian, links, etc.
Bozhe, tsarya khrani! (God Save the Tsar)	1833	MP3 (4.5MB, 1:54, 320kbps) by the Male choir of the “Valaam” Institute of Choral Arts (recorded in 1995) | MP3 (3.6MB, 1:55, 256kbps) (recorded in 1991) MP3 (2.6MB, 1:49, 192kbps) | RealAudio (1:50, 40kbps) — modern version by Jeanne Bitschevskaya (from CD “Lyubo, bratsy, lyubo...”, 1994) MP3 (2.0MB, 2:10, 128kbps) (from German CD “Schwarzmeer Kosaken-Chor”, 1998) MP3 (2.0MB, 2:09, 128kbps) MP3 (1.8MB, 1:58, 128kbps) by the chorus and orchestra of St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society (1915) MP3 (1.9MB, 2:00, 128kbps) by Marcel Journet (1912) MP3 (2.6MB, 2:48, 128kbps) by Shatrov (ca.1903(?); narration in the beginning says “Bozhe, tsarya khrani; sung by Alexandróv; Columbia Records”) Instrumental recordings MP3 (3.5MB, 1:30, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard 2”, 2005; arranged by A. Karabanov) | MP3 (3.4MB, 1:27, 320kbps) (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard”, 2000) MP3 (1.5MB, 1:38, 128kbps) by Meistersinger horn quarter (from CD “Russian Horns”) MP3 (790KB, 0:51, 128kbps) by the orchestra of St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society (1915) MP3 (170KB, 0:43, 32kbps) (pre-1914?) MP3 (330KB, 1:24, 32kbps) (pre-1914?) MP3 (1.5MB, 1:02, 192kbps) by the Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The anthem was in the band repertoire because Tsar Nicholas II was the colonel-in-chief of the Royal Scots Greys (merged with another unit in 1971 to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards), and the anthem was played as the opening for formal affairs in his honor (from CD “Amazing Grace”, 1992; this record was originally released on LP “Farewell to the Greys” in 1971) MP3 (190KB, 0:24, 64kbps) — introduction See also instrumental recordings of “God, the Omnipotent!” in the next section.	music by Alexis Lvov words by Vasily Zhukovsky Russian & sheet music English, German, French, various sheet music It was alternatively titled as “The Prayer of Russian People”, “People’s Hymn”, “National Hymn”, “Russian Hymn”. Besides and instead of “God Save the Tsar”, three other pieces could be used on some state occasions: “Kol slaven”, “Preobrajensky march” and “Grom pobedy” (see them in the museum down the page).
Molitva russkikh (The Prayer of Russians)	ca.1815	MP3 (6.9MB, 2:58, 320kbps) by the Male choir of the “Valaam” Institute of Choral Arts (recorded in 1997) Instrumental recordings MP3 (3.6MB, 1:33, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard 2”, 2005; arrangement from Russian music-book “Historical marches of the Russian Army” by O. fon Freymann (1904)/ by A. Karabanov) Any canonical instrumental performance of the United Kingdom national anthem would fit here, because this is what Russia adopted for the anthem, just as 20+ other countries did in that century. See one of these recordings in the next section. Please note that sound recording was invented in the 1870s. Thus, we do not have authentic audio recordings of The Prayer of Russians from the time it was the national anthem.	music by Henry Carey (or possibly by an unknown composer) words by Vasily Zhukovsky Russian Many disagree that The Prayer of Russians was the first official anthem. Most historians consider God Save the Tsar to be the first Russian national anthem. Some start the list of anthems with the 18th century Preobrajensky March (see it in the museum down the page) while often omitting The Prayer of Russians altogether.

I’d like to include as many different versions of each anthem as possible. If you find texts or records that are missing here, please send them to me.
 

Ancestors of official anthems, informal versions, parodies, use in other works

I. Related to anthems with Alexandrov’s music
Title	Year of creation	Listen	Lyrics & comments
Rossiya — by Laibach group (Slovenia)	2006	MP3 (5.6MiB, 3:54, vbr200kbps) (from CD “Volk”, 2006)	Lyrics includes fragments (changed somewhat) from the anthems of the USSR and Russia, as well as the Internationale.
Petroleum — in synthpop style, by Shura Tarasov (Moscow, Russia)	2006	MP3 (3.2MB, 3:24, 128kbps) on a computer with MIDI-synthesizer | MP3 (4.6MB, 3:18, 192kbps) — a somewhat differently recorded version	“This composition is devoted to Putin V.V.”
Anthem of Soviet Union — by Suresh David Tucker (Germany)	2005	Instrumental: MP3 (6.7MiB, 2:56, 320kbps) played on a software synthesizer (GarageBand) (Creative Commons license: Attribution-ShareAlike) | Ogg (2.9MB, 2:47, 141kbps)
Signature tune for day 5 of the 2005 World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow — by Boris Zelkin and Deeji Mincey (USA)	2005	Instrumental: MP3 (2.0MB, 1:05, 256kbps)	This short composition begins with the national anthem theme.
Anthem of Russia (2000) — by Sean Atwood deVries (USA)	2005	Instrumental: MP3 (1.6MB, 1:15, vbr173kbps) | MP3 (3.0MB, 1:18, 320kbps) — the same on the background of an orchestral recording of the anthem	Three guitar tracks were recorded separately, then mixed together to make this recording.
USSR Gimn (Ultra Energy Mix) — by Trancestral Project (aka Sasha LSD) (Moscow, Russia)	2005	MP3 (5.7MB, 4:04, 192kbps)	“Jorky, but very hi energy mix.”
Gimn Rossii — by X-Mode (St. Petersburg, Russia)	2005	Instrumental: MP3 (10.5MiB, 7:40, 192kbps)
Anthem of Soviet Union (1977) — subtitled with a fun phonetic approximation in Swedish, by CJ	2004	Video: Windows Media (5.9MB, 3:37, 220kbps)
Anthem of Russia (2000) — in progressive house & pump style, by El-Mio (Emil Stasovsky, St. Petersburg, Russia), from “Free Dream” CD.	2004	Instrumental: MP3 (8.2MB, 3:31, 320kbps)
Anthem of Russia (2000) — techno version by Zbyszek Wyrwich / DJ Zbyńa (Poland), from “The Sounds of General Midi” CD.	2004	Instrumental: Ogg (2.6MB, 3:36, 100kbps)	According to the author, he “learned how to play this anthem from Mobile Ringtone for Nokia :-)”
Anthem of Soviet Union — in reggae style, by 5’NIZZA group (Ukraine)	2003	MP3 (9.0MB, 3:51, 320kbps) (from compilation CD “Meshanina ili neGoluboy ogonyok 2004”) MP3 (6.6MB, 4:44, 192kbps) (live recording from concert in Samara, 2003) Video: DivX (33.4MB, 3:43, 1.2Mbps) (recorded from broadcast on RenTV channel on January 1, 2004 at circa 00:10)	First two verses of 1977 lyrics
Anthem of Soviet Union — nonsensical version in Portuguese, by 31 brave young men conducted by Eduardo Menezes (Brazil)	2003	A cappella, version 1: MP3 (3.7MB, 3:11, 160kbps) A cappella, version 2: MP3 (3.9MB, 3:22, 160kbps)	The lyrics is mostly nonsense based in the phonetic similarities between Russian and Portuguese.
Hello, Jimi Hendrix — by Leningrad group (Russia), from CD “Pirates of the 21st Century”.	2002	Instrumental: MP3 (6.7MB, 3:34, 256kbps)	Improvised solo on electric guitar by Shnur (Sergey Shnurov). The title of the composition stems from the fact that Jimi Hendrix once performed the US anthem in a similar way.
Anthem of Soviet Union — by Röda Arméns Gosskör (student choir at Linköping University, Sweden), from “Plastinka” CD.	2002	A cappella: MP3 (1.8MB, 1:55, 128kbps)	First two verses of 1977 lyrics
Anthem of Russia (2000) — techno version by unknown artist	2002 or earlier(?)	Instrumental: MP3 (2.0MB, 2:07, 128kbps) StepMania game file: ZIP archive (2.3MB), made by Zachary Harden
Derzhavny soyuz narodov (Sovereign Union of Nations)	2000	MP3  (6.0MB, 2:34, 320kbps) by Vladimir Devyatov and the Ossipov orchestra of folk instruments conducted by N. Kalinin (recorded in October 2000) | MP3 (5.9MB, 2:34, 320kbps) — the same with pseudospace effect	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Vladimir Kalinkin Project of anthem for the union state (of Russia and Belarus, but the lyrics is not tied to any particular nationality and is usable for a wider union)
Star Spangled Bannered — American anthem sung to the tune of Soviet anthem, by Iron Curtain band (USA)	2000(?)	MP3 (1.3MB, 1:25, 128kbps)	First verse of The Star-Spangled Banner, followed by: “Oh, dark of personal gain. The White House commies still hold the reins Oh, with the guns, the freaks And the morally depraved.”
Gimn zvyozdnogo neba (Hymn of Star-Spangled Sky)	2000 or earlier(?)	MP3 (6.6MB, 4:19, vbr209kbps) sung by A. Pinegin and S. Koroteeva (from CD “Igra v klassikov”, 2003)	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Andrei Usachev The lyrics has nothing to do with our national anthem. This is a song for children, a lullaby. Nevertheless the State Duma awarded a special diploma “For Citizenly Stance” to Andrei Usachev in 2001, for this very song as far as we know.
Anthem of Soviet Union in Estonian — by Meie Mees group (Estonia)	1999(?)	MP3 (800KB, 0:51, 128kbps)	Incomplete first verse of Estonian lyrics
Gimn CCCP — by Mieskuoro Huutajat male choir (Finland)	1997	A cappella: MP3 (1.1MiB, 0:56, 160kbps) (from CD “10th Anniversary Concert”, 1998; recorded live in 1997)	First verse of the 1977 lyrics
Go West — by Pet Shop Boys (UK)	1993	MP3 (11.9MB, 5:05, 320kbps) (from CD “Very”, 1993) Video: MPEG-1 (49.8MB, 4:53, 1.4Mbps) (original clip made in 1993) There is also a video from the Live 8 concert in Moscow in 2005. On the Live 8 concert, the group did not play the instrumental opening to the song (it was the opening that caused the strongest association with the anthem). It’s not in the museum, but you can search for torrents elsewhere.	Pet Shop Boys’ version of “Go West” (the song originally performed by The Village People) resembles the Soviet anthem. Though, as follows from the commentary by Neil and Chris of Pet Shop Boys, they discovered the similarity of their arrangement to the anthem only after the recording of the album was done.
Gimme All Your Lovin` — by Leningrad Cowboys group (Finland) and the Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble, joint concert in Helsinki in June 1993	1993	MP3 (7.4MB, 3:10, 320kbps) (from CD “Total Balalaika Show”)	Russian participant of the concert: “The Red Army Choir was parting with the old times playfully”
Anthem of Soviet Union — parody by a team of popular Soviet singers assembled by Igor Ugolnikov	1991	MP3 (5.4MB, 5:44, 128kbps) Video: MPEG-1 (58.7MB, 5:45, 1.4Mbps) | RealMedia (5:52, 80kbps)	Mix of 1944 and 1977 lyrics
Anthem of Soviet Union — soundtrack of The Hunt for Red October (USA, 1990)	1990	A cappella: MP3 (1.7MB, 1:12, 192kbps) (from the full version of the soundtrack CD; track titled “Let Them Sing”) Video: MPEG-1 (44.3MB, 4:20, 1.4Mbps) — a fragment of the movie (from the DVD release)	On this recording (from the soundtrack CD), the crew of Red October submarine sings the refrain and then the last verse of the 1977 lyrics. American accent is pretty obvious. Note that the title song on the soundtrack CD, “Hymn to Red October”, is a song original to this film, composed by Basil Poledouris. It is not our anthem as some Americans think, even though it imitates the style of Soviet and Russian songs: “Hymn to Red October” sung in Russian, as in the film: MP3 (11.7MiB, 5:06, 320kbps) (from the soundtrack CD, 1990) “Hymn to Red October” sung in English: MP3 (12.9MiB, 5:39, 320kbps) by Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by David Temple, and The City of Prague Philharmonic conducted by Nic Raine (from CD “Cinema Choral Classics II”, recorded in 1998)
A ja ljublju SSSR — by CCCP group (Italy)	1987	MP3 (11.1MB, 4:44, 320kbps) (from CD “Socialismo e Barbarie”, 1987)	The song “I love USSR” uses an excerpt from the Soviet anthem melody.
Anthem of Soviet Union — soundtrack of Rocky IV (USA, 1985)	1985(?)	Video: MPEG-1 (14.0MB, 1:22, 1.4Mbps) — a fragment of the movie	A recording of the first verse of the 1944 anthem performed by some Russian choir and orchestra is used in the film. The use of Stalin’s lyrics of the anthem is absurd, because the setting implies a much later time. There is no mention in the film credits on who performs the anthem.
Anthem of Soviet Union — jazz version by Stan Kenton, from “National Anthems of the World” album.	1972	Instrumental: MP3  (1.3MB, 1:26, 128kbps)
Kanareika (Canary bird) by Alexander Galich	1967?	MP3 (1.0MB, 0:52, 160kbps) — short version MP3 (3.9MB, 2:47, 192kbps) (from CD “Pesnya ishoda”, 1996) MP3 (3.7MB, 2:37, 192kbps) (from CD “Ja vybirayu svobodu”, 2001)	“...I’ll teach the anthem to the canary bird, for it needs no words!” (referring to the state anthem of 1955—1977)
Anthem of Soviet Union — from LP “Walt Disney presents: National Anthems and their stories” (narrated by Dick Whittinghill, produced and conducted by Camarata).	1965	Instrumental: MP3 (1.5MB, 1:37, 128kbps) Comments in English: MP3 (1.2MB, 1:16, 128kbps)	It’s not “E.L. Gistan”, it’s Gabriel El-Registan, you illiterate Yankees :)
Ancestors and musical similarities
Gimn partii bolshevikov (Hymn of the Bolshevik Party)	1939	MP3 (4.5MB, 3:13, 192kbps) by the Red Army Ensemble, conducted by Alexander Alexandrov (“Pesnya o partii”, mother record no. 8996B, 1939) | MP3 (1.5MB, 3:13, 64kbps) | MP3 (3.0MB, 3:10, 128kbps)	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach Four years later, Alexandrov rewrote this music for the national anthem contest, and it was chosen for the anthem. The final title and role as the party anthem (1939—1944) for this song was suggested by Stalin. Originally the song was called “Pesnya o partii” (“Song about the Party”). Musical origin: song “Zhit stalo luchche” created by the same authors in 1936, see below.
Zhit stalo luchche (Life has become better)	1936	MP3 (2.0MB, 2:07, 128kbps) by the Red Army Ensemble, conducted by Alexander Alexandrov (mother record no. 5954, 1937) MP3 (2.0MB, 2:10, 128kbps) by the Red Army Ensemble, conducted by Alexander Alexandrov (mother record no. 4506, 1936) The latter recording has been used in Belorussian political satire, in Flash cartoon titled “The Government of Pigs”: Windows executable (5.6MB). This cartoon made by opposition activists in 2005 alludes to President Lukashenko, Belorussian society, and George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm”.	music by Alexander Alexandrov words by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach Three years later this music was used for “Pesnya o partii” (just above) and seven years later it eventually transformed into the Anthem of the USSR. Alexandrov honed the anthem music over many years. Of the two recordings of this song available here, the later one is sounding closer to the anthem.
Shiroka strana moya rodnaya (My Spacious Homeland) / Pesnya o Rodine	1936	MP3 (6.2MB, 4:26, 192kbps) by Evgeny Nesterenko MP3 (4.6MB, 3:15, 192kbps) by Mark Reizen (1947?) MP3 (3.3MB, 3:31, 128kbps) by Petr Leschenko MP3 (4.8MB, 2:33, 256kbps) by Lyubov Orlova — soundtrack of The Circus (USSR, 1936) (from CD “Akter i Pesnya: Lyubov Orlova”, 2001) MP3 (8.9MB, 4:44, 256kbps) by Ivan Petrov and the “Ensemble of Music and Dance of the USSR” (literal translation from the label of an Italian LP: “Complesso Musica e Danze dell’URSS”) (from compilation CD “Songs about Our Homeland”, 2004; recorded no later than in 1965) MP3 (1.8MB, 4:16, 56kbps) by Muslim Magomaev MP3 (2.7MB, 1:54, 192kbps) by Paul Robeson (he sings it in Russian) MP3 (4.2MB, 3:00, 192kbps) by Demyanov (from CD “Luchchie sovetskie pesni” / “The Best Soviet Songs”, 2002) MP3 (4.0MB, 2:53, 192kbps) (from CD “Vsemirnyj katalog muzyki: Isaac Dunaevsky”, 2002) In other languages German: MP3 (3.4MB, 3:40, 128kbps) by Ernst Busch. German: MP3 (3.5MB, 3:44, 128kbps) Hungarian: MP3 (2.3MB, 2:29, 128kbps) Japanese: MP3  (4.2MiB, 1:49, 320kbps) (1994) Hebrew: MP3 (4.7MB, 5:03, 128kbps) by Shaul Reznik with karaoke (2003) Instrumental recordings MP3 (2.6MB, 2:45, 128kbps) MP3 (4.2MB, 3:00, 192kbps) (from karaoke CD, 2001)	music by Isaac Dunaevsky words by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach This song was written for the movie The Circus (USSR, 1936) and quickly become popular. Russian Russian (another version) Hebrew Italian  Sheet music (PDF, 200KB; courtesy Russian Planet) — English/Russian, translated by Olga Paul Its lyrics directly influenced the lyrics of the new Russian anthem (2000). (“From the southern seas to the polar realm Our forests and fields stretch.”; “Plenty of room for dreams and for life”)
“Bylina” overture by Vasily Kalinnikov	ca.1892	MP3 (22.6MB, 12:02, 256kbps) by the USSR Symphony Orchestra, conductor Evgeny Svetlanov (from CD “Anthology of Russian Symphony Music (33)”, 1991; recorded in 1990) | MP3 (3.2MB, 1:21, 320kbps) — fragment starting at 05:26 in which the melody in question first appears	It is not known when — and if — overture “Bylina” (“Folk Tale”) was first performed in the 19th century. The overture was first publicly performed in 1950. The score was first published in 1951, restored from the handwritten orchestral parts found in the archive. Only in 2000 has it been publicly pointed out that one of the themes in “Bylina” sounds like the beginning of Alexandrov’s Soviet anthem. This has been one of the arguments for restoring the Soviet anthem music during the heated parliament debate in December 2000. We’ll probably never know for sure if Alexandrov knew Kalinnikov’s overture or the similarity was a mere coincidence (the latter is most likely). I think, however, this similarity is worth noticing in any case. The theme repeats several times in the second half of the overture. You can listen and judge for yourself.
“Frühlingsfahrt”, Op. 45 no. 2 by Robert Schumann	1840	MP3 (7.1MB, 3:03, 320kbps) by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, piano accompaniment by Gerald Moore (from CD “Schumann Liederkreis Op.25 & Op.39”; recorded in 1965) MP3 (6.0MB, 3:13, 256kbps) by Heinrich Schlusnus, piano accompaniment by Sebastian Peschko (from CD “Heinrich Schlusnus Liederalbum Vol. II”, disc 1; recorded in 1938 on 78rpm Grammophon 62800 (7781 GR))	words by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff A small part of this Schumann’s piece, five beats of it, happen to match exactly a part of Alexandrov’s anthem (more info probably coming). I can’t hear it, but formally there is still a coincidence.
II. Related to Glinka’s anthem
Title	Year of creation	Listen	Lyrics & comments
“Nad Otchiznoy velichavo...” (“Proudly rising above the Fatherland...”)	1998	MP3 (5.4MB, 2:53, 256kbps) by the Sveshnikov Choir and the Ossipov orchestra of folk instruments conducted by N. Kalinin (recorded on January 28, 2000) MP3 (5.0MB, 2:39, 256kbps) by Vladimir Devyatov and the Ossipov orchestra of folk instruments conducted by N. Kalinin (recorded on August 12, 1998) MP3 (5.3MB, 2:48, 256kbps) by the Sveshnikov Choir and the Ossipov orchestra of folk instruments conducted by N. Kalinin (recorded in February 1999)	words by Vladimir Kalinkin
Na veka Rossii nashei — slava! (Glory for Ages to Our Russia!)	1998	MP3 (2.6MB, 1:24, 256kbps) by Large choir of Radio and Brass Band of the Ministry of Defence conducted by Victor Afanasiev (recorded in 1998; the lyrics and this recording were presented in the State Duma on February 3, 1998)	words by Nina Benson
Slavsya, Rossiya! (Be Glorious, Russia!)	1996	MP3 (2.9MB, 1:33, 256kbps) by Leonid Pshenichny (soloist of the Alexandrov Soviet Army Ensemble; 1st performer) and the Large Symphony Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov (from CD included with the book “Russian anthem on Mikhail Glinka’s music. Notes from a competitor” by Victor Radugin; recorded in November 1997)	words by Victor Radugin This is the winner of competition to put words on the 1991 anthem music. The competition ended in November 1999. This anthem never became official, because on December 31, 1999 President Yeltsin resigned, passing the power to Putin (who later preferred the old Soviet music, to Yeltsin’s displeasure).
Slavsya, Rus! (Be Glorious, Russia, Our Great State!)	1991	MP3 (3.0MB, 1:16, 320kbps) by the Alexandrov Soviet Army Ensemble, conductor Igor Agafonnikov (from CD included with the book “Russian anthem on Mikhail Glinka’s music. Notes from a competitor” by Victor Radugin; live recording from the concert in Jerusalem, 1992)	words by Victor Radugin In the tumultous 1991, this lyrics to the Russian anthem had a good chance to be pubicly accepted. However, accidental circumstances and the events of the following years prevented it.
The museum is seeking any recordings of the other versions of the anthem on Glinka’s music (and on other music, too) prepared for the competition.
Zdravstvuj, slavnaya stolitsa (Hail, the Glorious Capital)	1947	A cappella: MP3 (2.2MB, 1:32, vbr198kbps) by the Leningrad Radio and TV Chorus, conducted by Grigory Sandler MP3 (1.2MB, 1:15, 128kbps) (1992) MP3 (2.5MB, 2:37, 128kbps)	words by A. Mashistov (1947) music by Mikhail Glinka (probably 1833 or possibly 1837—38) in instrumentation by M. Bagrinovsky (“Patriotic Song”, 1944) The music was used for the Anthem of Russia (1991).
Patriotic Song	1944	MP3 (3.7MiB, 2:00, 256kbps) by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Gauk (recorded on December 30, 1950; arranged by A. Gauk)	music by Mikhail Glinka (probably 1833 or possibly 1837—38) The music was used for the Anthem of Russia (1991).
III. God Save the Tsar!  Related to Tsarist anthems (This is just the tip of the iceberg. I believe that “God Save the Tsar” has been used in many more musical pieces, most of which are all but totally forgotten by today; several such forgotten compositions are listed in Muzychuk’s paper.)
Title	Year of creation	Listen	Lyrics & comments
Hymn	1998	MP3 (5.3MB, 2:50, 256kbps) by Alexander Gradsky, a symphony orchestra conducted by Vladimir Simkin, orchestra of folk instruments conducted by Nikolai Kalinin, Yurlov State Academic Chorus, and Viktor Kuleschov’s Don Cossacks Chorus (from CD “ZHIV’EM v ‘Rossii’”; live recording from Gradsky’s anniversary recital in ‘Russia’ concert hall in Moscow on November 3, 1999)	words by Alexander Gradsky (substantially different from “God Save the Tsar”) music by Alexis Lvov This was Gradsky’s proposal for Russian national anthem. It was first performed by Gradsky probably on August 20, 1998 on Vasilievsky Spusk next to the Red Square in Moscow.
Bozhe, tsarya khrani! / Jumal, keisrit kaitse sa / Jumal, kaitse tsaari / God Save the Tsar — punk version by J.M.K.E. band (Estonia), from “Sputniks in Pectopah” CD.	1995	MP3 (1.3MB, 1:47, 96kbps)	God Save the Tsar
Bozhe, tsarya khrani (God Save the Tsar) + Molitva russkikh (The Prayer of Russians)	1992(?)	MP3 (5.1MB, 3:37, 192kbps) by Jeanne Bitschevskaya (from CD “Tsar Nikolai”, 1999; track titled “Molitva russkogo naroda”) MP3 (3.9MB, 2:45, 192kbps) by Igor Kartashev (from CD “Rostov, Moscow, Odessa, Piter”, 1992; track titled “Rossijsky gimn”)	God Save the Tsar followed by three verses of The Prayer of Russians, slightly modified in places.
Symphony no. 1 “Aus meiner Heimat” (“From my Homeland”), Op. 52 by Sergei Bortkiewicz	1934	MP3 (20.8MB, 8:52, 320kbps) — last movement: IV. Allegro vivace; by BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martyn Brabbins (from CD “Bortkiewicz: Symphonies 1 & 2”; recorded in 2002)	“With an apotheosis, the symphony ends impressively with the former hymn to the Tsar.”
Firm Bound in Brotherhood	1921 or earlier	Amateur recording, without accompaniment: MP3 (300KB, 0:43, 56kbps) by Phillip Williamson (2006) | voice with Meistersinger horn quartet music: MP3 (1.2MB, 1:38, 96kbps) (2006)	The song Firm Bound in Brotherhood by E. Urner Goodman is sung to the tune of God Save the Tsar by Alexis Lvov. It is the official song of the Order of the Arrow. All members of the order are required to know it. The song is traditionally sung in a circle where the members cross their arms symbolizing the links in a chain.
Hail, Pennsylvania!	1902 or earlier	A cappella: MP3 (1.3MB, 0:55, 192kbps) by the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club (from CD “Hail Pennsylvania”, 1992)	The song Hail, Pennsylvania! by Edgar M. Dilley is sung to the tune of God Save the Tsar by Alexis Lvov. It is the Alma Mater of the University of Pennsylvania, and also the County Song of Lackawanna County.
Kronstadt March by Gustave Wettge	1891	MP3 (11.0MB, 4:40, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Glory”, 2005; recorded in 2005) — corrected arrangement by V. Malgin, now authentic to the original MP3 (6.5MB, 2:46, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (live recording from concert in the Hermitage Theatre in St. Petersburg on December 9, 1999; from CD “Under the Sign of Eagle”, 2000) MP3 (6.6MB, 2:50, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Vivat St. Petersburg!”, 1998; recorded in 1998)	The march has a brief inclusion of La Marseillaise intertwined with God Save the Tsar. Alexei Karabanov: “March ‘Kronstadt’ was written by French conductor Gustave Wettge on the occasion of the French battle ships’ visit to St. Petersburg in 1981. The march became very popular in Russia just at once. It hadn’t been performed after the revolution of 1917. We managed to find the score in Paris thanks to the help of the French naval attache in Moscow in 1996. Nowadays march ‘Kronstadt’ is being played in St. Petersburg.”
Fantaisie sur l’Hymne National Russe (Fantasy on the Russian National Anthem) by Charles Gounod	1886	MP3 (19.0MB, 10:08, 256kbps) by Marylene Dosse, piano, and Westfalen Symphony Orchestra conducted by Siegfried Landau (from CD set “The Great History of French Classical Music”, 1998; recorded in 1974) MP3 (21.7MB, 11:36, 256kbps) by Ingolstadt Philharmonic, conductor Alfredo Ibarra, and Franz Hauk at the organ of Frauenkirche of Ingolstadt (from CD “Triumphal Music for Organ & Orchestra”, 2000; recorded on August 14, 1996)
La Czarine, mazurka russe by Louis Ganne	1885(?)	MP3 (4.3MB, 4:37, 128kbps) by John Lacalle’s Band (from Indestructible Record cylinder 3040, 1910. File courtesy UCSB Cylinder Digitization Project; Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial) MP3 (950KB, 5:23, 24kbps) on a player piano, from a roll arranged and played by Charles Cooper (AMPICO recording player piano roll 60203-H, 1921. Played on 1925 Hallet & Davis Lexington Simplex player piano. File courtesy Classical Archives)	The opening of God Save the Tsar can be heard twice at the beginning of the mazurka.
Russian national anthem “God Save the Tsar” in Tchaikovsky’s music — Peter Tchaikovsky included the anthem in six of his works composed from 1866 to 1883, namely: Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem, Cantata for the Opening of the Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow, Marche Slave, March for the Volunteer Fleet, 1812 Overture, and Festival Coronation March. This separate page has recordings of all them, and also recordings of the Soviet versions of these works that did not play the anthem, for political reasons.
Grand Russian Fantasia for cornet & orchestra by Jules Levy	shortly before 1880	MP3 (8.9MB, 6:21, 192kbps) by Wynton Marsalis (from CD “Carnaval”, 1987) MP3 (16.4MB, 7:00, 320kbps) by Stanislav Ilchenko and St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (live recording from concert in the Hermitage Theatre in St. Petersburg on December 9, 1999; from CD “Under the Sign of Eagle”, 2000)	This potpourri of Russian melodies ends with God Save the Tsar.
Variations on the Russian National Hymn, Op. 12 by W. Eugene Thayer	1874	MP3 (15.7MB, 8:59, vbr238kbps) by Arturo Sacchetti (from CD “Organ Music in America”, 1996; recorded in 1985 in Anglican Church, Roma)
Souvenir de la Russie. No. 1. Hymne national russe de Lvoff — by Johannes Brahms	ca.1850	MP3 (6.3MB, 3:26, vbr252kbps) (from CD set “Complete Brahms Edition”: from CD 23, or from CD 6 in Vol. 4)	The six fantasies for piano (four hands) were published in 1851 in Hamburg under the pseudonym “G.W. Marks”. In 1971 after a musical analysis it was concluded they were composed by the young Brahms. Original sheet music: № 1. Hymne nationale russe de Lvoff (PDF, 550KB; courtesy Sheet Music Archive)
Wielkie duo concertant na temat hymnu rosyjskiego A. Lwów (Grand duo concertant on the theme of the Russian national anthem by A. Lvov), joint composition by Henryk and Joseph Wieniawski	ca.1850	No recordings exist	This piece has never been published. A copy of the handwritten sheet music is available on request from the archive of the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society of Poznan (unfortunately, they haven’t allowed me to publish it online).
Nikolai-Quadrille, Op. 65 by Johann Strauss, Jr.	1849	MP3 (8.5MB, 6:03, vbr192kbps) by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava, conducted by Michael Dittrich (recorded in 1991; from CD “J. Strauss, Jr. Edition, Vol. 34” released in 1993)	This quadrille includes the tune of the Russian national anthem God Save the Tsar in the finale. It was composed on the occasion of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich visiting Vienna. There are few more works by Johann Strauss, Jr. that make use of some foreign national anthem.
God, the Omnipotent!	1842	MP3 (8.3MB, 3:32, 320kbps) by the Band of the Welsh Guards — soundtrack of War and Peace (UK, 1972). Only the last verse of the hymn is sung; this is the final song in the movie. (from CD “Land of My Fathers”, 1997; track titled “Tsarist Anthem from ‘War and Peace’”; this record was also available on earlier vinyls and tapes) Instrumental: MP3 (3.3MB, 3:33, 128kbps) played on organ by J. Richard Szeremany (from CD “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, 2000) Instrumental: MP3 (4.9MB, 3:27, 192kbps) played on piano by Randy Piscione, with some jazz flavor (from CD “Hymns for Him”, 2004)	The Protestant hymn God, the Omnipotent! by Henry F. Chorley and John Ellerton is sung to the tune of God Save the Tsar by Alexis Lvov. Sheet music (PDF, 590KB) The hymn doesn’t appear to be used much nowadays. I haven’t found any recording of it sung by a church choir or a singer.
God Save The King / UK anthem	1743	Instrumental: MP3 (1.9MB, 0:48, 320kbps) by New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa (from CD “Music of the World”, 1997, which was the official anthem CD of the 1998 Olympics)	The music was used for the first official Russian anthem — The Prayer of Russians.

Music and songs that were used as national anthems

Title	Listen	Lyrics & comments
Marseillaise	“Worker’s Marseillaise” in Russian A cappella: MP3 (6.5MB, 2:46, 320kbps) by the Chamber choir of the Krupskaya Leningrad State Institute of Culture, directed by N. Kornev (from CD “Songs of Russian Proletariat”, 1998; recorded before 1987) “La Marseillaise” in French MP3 (5.0MB, 4:18, 160kbps) by Mireille Mathieu MP3 (6.0MB, 3:11, 256kbps) by M.G. Thill & orc. P. Dupont (from CD “English and French marches”, 2001; recorded in 1936) MP3 (8.5MB, 9:03, 128kbps) — arrangement by Hector Berlioz (1830); by Sylvia McNair, soprano, Richard Leech, tenor, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra & Chorus conducted by David Zinman (from CD “La Marseillaise & other Berlioz favorites”; recorded in 1987) Instrumental recordings MP3 (1.0MB, 1:02, 128kbps) MP3 (3.9MB, 2:46, 192kbps) (from CD “English and French marches”, 2001; recorded in 1907) MP3 (1.2MB, 1:19, 128kbps) by the United States Navy Band (from the library of national anthems for official use by U.S. government, 2000)	music and words by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1792) Russian lyrics by Petr Lavrov (1875, “Worker’s Marseillaise”, lyrics is not a translation from French) Used as anthem in Russia (with both French and Russian lyrics), together with the Internationale, in 1917—1918. Later, the Internationale gradually prevailed. La Marseillaise has been the national anthem of France during 1795—1799 and from 1870 till present time.
Preobrajensky March	“Znayut turki nas i shvedy” A cappella: MP3 (2.9MB, 1:34, 256kbps) by the Male choir of the “Valaam” Institute of Choral Arts (recorded in 1997) | MP3 (4.3MB, 2:17, 256kbps) (recorded in 1991) A cappella: MP3 (5.5MB, 2:21, 320kbps) by the Russian Heritage Male Chorus, conductor Valentin N. Mantulin (from CD “Songs of the Russian Imperial Army”, 2004; recorded in 1987) Instrumental recordings MP3 (4.6MB, 1:58, 320kbps) (performed by one of the leading Russian military brass bands, not identified here because the recording label has managed to lose track of which band this record belongs to :-) MP3 (4.6MB, 1:59, 320kbps) by the Leningrad Military District Headquarters Band (from CD “Russian Military Marches”, 2003) MP3 (6.6MB, 2:49, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band, conductor Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard”, 2000) MP3 (4.0MB, 2:08, 256kbps) by the Brass Band of the USSR Ministry of Defence, conducted by N. Nazarov (from CD “Our Response to NATO”, 1999) MP3 (5.3MB, 2:50, 256kbps) by the Band of People’s Defence Commissariat of the USSR, conductor S. Chernetsky (from compilation CD “Russian and Soviet Marches”, 2001; recorded in 1934–1944) MP3 (5.8MB, 2:29, 320kbps) by the Brass band of the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School, conductor R. Adelshinov (from CD “Hymns, Marches and Songs of the Russian Imperial Army”, 2002) MP3 (2.5MB, 2:38, 128kbps) from movie Bumbarash (USSR, 1971)	music by unknown composer of the time of Peter the Great (i.e. before 1725) there are many different lyrics to this music. The most widely known are “Poidem, bratcy, za granitsu bit Otechestva vragov” (“Let’s go abroad to beat the enemies of the Fatherland”) by Sergey Marin (1805), and soldier’s song “Znayut turki nas i shvedy” (“We are known to Turks and Swedes”) Also called: Preobrazhensky March, March of the Preobrajensky Regiment, March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, March of the Life Guards Preobrajensky Regiment, etc.
Grom pobedy (Thunder of Victory)	A cappella: MP3 (10.3MB, 5:30, 256kbps) by the Male choir of the “Valaam” Institute of Choral Arts (recorded in 1997) | MP3 (11.6MB, 6:11, 256kbps) (recorded in 1991) Instrumental recordings MP3 (3.7MB, 1:35, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard 2”, 2005; arranged by A. Karabanov)	music by Osip Kozlovsky (1791) words by Gavrila Derzhavin (1791) Also called: “Grom pobedy, razdavajsya!” (“Let the Thunder of Victory Sound” or “Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!”)
Kol slaven	MP3 (4.3MB, 3:02, 192kbps) by Oleg Shapovalov (from CD “Word of a Life — In Memory of Archpriest Nikolay Guryanov”) A cappella: MP3 (9.4MB, 5:01, 256kbps) by the Male choir of the “Valaam” Institute of Choral Arts (recorded in 1997) | MP3 (7.2MB, 3:51, 256kbps) (recorded in 1991) Instrumental recordings MP3 (3.8MB, 1:36, 320kbps) by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard 2”, 2005; arranged by O. Hackenberger/ F. Deisnroth) MP3 (4.4MB, 1:54, 320kbps) — surrounded by calls “To prayer” and “To finish the prayer”; by St. Petersburg Admiralty Navy Band conducted by Alexei Karabanov (from CD “Music of the Russian Imperial Guard”, 2000)	music by Dmitri Bortniansky (prob. 1790—1801) words by Mikhail Kheraskov Also called: “Kol slaven nash Gospod v Sione” (“How Glorious is Our Lord (in Zion)” or “Our Lord is Glorious in Zion”)
Choir “Glory” has not been included into this section, because we don’t think it belongs here. Though if you are looking for it, recordings are available in another section of the museum.

 

Programs

• From the history of Russian national anthems — audio program, script by Igor Ushakov, broadcast on radio The Voice of Russia (2006; narrated in Russian).
   

Reading room

• “Long live our Fatherland...” — a chapter about Russian and Soviet anthems from the book “Russian National Symbols” by Nadezhda Soboleva (2002; in Russian).
• On the history of Russian national anthems (PDF, 6.3MB) — an academic paper by Nadezhda Soboleva in the journal “National History”. The paper contains, among other things, a detailed archive review of the work done in 1942—1943 to create the new Soviet anthem (2005; in Russian).
• Two Russian national hymns in printed music — an academic paper by Tatiana Muzychuk about “God Save the Tsar” and “Kol slaven”, based on archive materials and sheet music printed in the 19th and early 20th centuries in St. Petersburg (2003; in Russian).

• How the key, tempo and rhythm of the anthems on Alexandrov’s music have changed through the years — comment by Roman Sinelnikov (February/May 2005; in Russian). Summary: official edition of the anthem music has changed slightly through the years. If you want to perform the current edition, take the sheet music from the first section of the museum. It is OK, however, to play earlier editions of the anthem music with the current words, as many performers do today.

• The State Attributes of Russian Federation on the Government website — national emblem, flag, anthem: lyrics, music, three audio recordings (MP3); the relevant laws.
• Statement by President Putin regarding state attributes — President’s position on the anthem (December 4, 2000; in Russian).
• The Anthem Law;  Bolsheviks restored the anthem;  all articles in Gazeta.ru about the work on and approval of the new anthem (2000; all in Russian).
• Duma approves old Soviet anthem — story by CNN (2000).
• Anthem and power. The chronicle of vanity. What should be the Anthem of Russia? — Radio Liberty discusses the history of anthems in Russia and proposals for the new anthem (2000; in Russian; full text and 45 minutes of RealAudio).
• 20 Russian Films with Radio Liberty. “Cirk” (“Circus”) — it tells inter alia about the tune “Shiroka strana moya rodnaya” (“My Spacious Homeland”), which became an unofficial anthem of Soviet Union (in Russian; full text and 45 minutes of RealAudio).
• Russian State Attributes — national emblem, flag and anthem — from the origins to Soviet times (in Russian; a lesson from schoolbook on Russian Constitution)
• Sounds of Soviet Union — anthems of Soviet Republics; songs of the Russian proletariat. About 30 MP3s.
• Soviet National Anthem — a comprehensive collection, including lyrics in several languages.
• Russian Anthem: Criticism, alternative versions, parodies (in Russian). -- added by Anatoly Ilyin (toly@mail.rtc.neva.ru) on November 19, 2001
• “Russian Flag” (in Russian) — site about Russian state attributes, including collection of anthems similar to this one. -- added by Gennadij Solovej (site author) on January 24, 2002
• National Anthems, Hymns, Patriotic and Folk Songs — an impressive collection of links, covering anthems of all Slavic, East European and ex-USSR countries.
• Soviet Patriotic Music — MP3s and texts of several hundred Soviet songs.
• Russian Anthem: the controversy continues — site for those who don’t like the adoption of the old anthem. -- added by Oleg Rezepov (site author) on March 27, 2003
• How Soviet Anthem was written — memoirs by Sergey Mikhalkov (1998); see also a story on how the anthem was written from Mikhalkov’s book “I was a Soviet writer” (1995).
• Hymn of the Soviet Union in Wikipedia.
• Anthems of Russian Empire and songs of White Guards — MP3 collection.
• For Russia — criticism of the lyrics of the new Russian anthem. About anthems in general; lyrics of other national anthems, translated into Russian. -- added by Evgenij Krestinin (site author; ludvig@pisem.net) on June 23, 2004
• “God Save the King” or “God Save the Tsar” — analytical article by Lubov Kiseleva.
• Anthems of USSR and Ukraine: the heritage we abolish — article by Vladislav and Ludmila Grinevich (2003).
• Geraldika.ru > Russian Federation — images of the Russian symbols; articles, laws and decrees, references.
• Alexis Lvov (scroll down) — bio and remarks about the introduction of the anthem “God Save the Tsar”.
• History of musical “transformations”, or how “Song about the Party” has become the anthem of Russia — article by Nikolai Kruzhkov about songs-ancestors of the Soviet anthem music, and a list of 78 rpm master recordings of the anthem made in 1944.
• Hymnopedy — article by Tatiana Cherednichenko with philosophic analysis and comparison of Glinka’a and Alexandrov’s anthems (2001; in Russian).
• Lyrics and sheet music of the Soviet anthem in many languages, on the NationalAnthems.us forum.