Origins The anthem's music was originally composed by
Alexander Alexandrov in 1938 for the
Hymn of the Bolshevik Party. Its opening bars were borrowed from one of Alexandrov's previous pieces, "
Life Has Become Better", which was based on a quote by former
Soviet Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin at the First All-Union Meeting of the
Stakhanovites on 17 November 1935. Other than "Life Has Become Better", the music of the anthem has several possible outside influences. Alexandrov himself has described it as the combination of a
march with
Russian traditional music, particularly that of
bylina epic songs. The anthem shares several chord progressions with
Vasily Kalinnikov's overture
Bylina, Epic Poem (which, as its name indicates, is also inspired by the
bylina tradition). There also exist similarities between Alexandrov's anthem and
Robert Schumann's
Frühlingsfahrt. When the
Comintern was dissolved in 1943 for the Soviet Union to maintain its alliance with the other
Allies of World War II, a new composition was needed to replace "The Internationale" as the national anthem. A contest was held in mid to late 1943 for a new anthem, and more than 200 entries were submitted. Alexandrov's music was personally chosen by Stalin, who both praised and criticized it. The anthem's lyrics then had to be written. Stalin thought the song should be short, and that it should invoke the
Red Army's impending victory over the forces of
Germany on the
Eastern Front. The poets
Sergey Mikhalkov and
Gabriyel' Arkadyevich Ureklyan were chosen by Stalin's staffers, called to
Moscow, and given the task of writing lyrics that referenced not only the
Great Patriotic War, but also "a Country of Soviets". The first draft was completed overnight. The anthem was first published on 7 November 1943. It was played for the first time on
Soviet radio at midnight on 1 January 1944, and officially adopted on 15 March the same year. The new lyrics had three refrains following three different stanzas. In each refrain, the second line was modified to refer to friendship, then happiness, then glory.
Joseph Stalin and the
Soviet Union's war against Germany were originally invoked in the second and third verses, respectively. Reportedly, Stalin was opposed to including his name in the lyrics but relented after some
Politburo members insisted.
Post-Stalin era With the process of de-Stalinization after
Stalin's death, the lyrics referring to him were considered unacceptable, and from 1956 to 1977 the anthem was performed without lyrics. A notable exception took place at the
1976 Canada Cup ice hockey tournament, where singer
Roger Doucet insisted on performing the anthem with lyrics after consultations with
Russian studies scholars from
Université de Montréal and Soviet team officials. In 1977, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the
October Revolution, revised lyrics, written in 1970 by original author
Sergey Mikhalkov, were adopted. The varying refrains were replaced by a uniform refrain after all stanzas, and the line praising Stalin was dropped, as were the lines referring to the
Great Patriotic War. Another notable change was the replacement of a line referring to the
Soviet national flag with one citing the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the form of "
Partiya Lenina" (
The party of Lenin). These lyrics were also present in the original party anthem at the same place in the melody, but followed by the lyrics "
Partiya Stalina" (
The party of Stalin). == Post-1991 use ==