Did you know that the music of the Russian National Anthem was written more than sixty years earlier than its lyrics? In this article, we are going to look at the history of the Anthem and its official English translation.
History
The modern Russian Anthem is the 8th official anthem in Russian history. The first one was written at the beginning of the XIX century, the last one – at the very beginning of the XXI century.
Music used in the current hymn was written in 1939 by Alexandr Alexandrov initially for the State Anthem of the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1993 the Russian government approved a new hymn, written by Victor Radugin and Michail Glinka. After the resignation of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin, a new President Vladimir Putin assigned a new National Anthem. The same creators as to the Soviet Anthem were chosen: Sergey Michalkov wrote new lyrics, and the original music of Alexandr Alexandrov was used again in a Russian hymn.
The decision to rewrite the old Soviet Anthem caused controversy in Russian society at that time. Some people believed that a new modern country needs a new modern anthem, others agreed with the governmental decision to use the same melody.
Anthem
Here is the Russian text and the official translation of the Russian National Anthem.
Россия — священная наша держава,
Россия — любимая наша страна.
Могучая воля, великая слава —
Твоё достоянье на все времена!
Russia, our holy nation!
Russia, our beloved country!
A mighty will, great glory –
These are yours for all time!
Славься, Отечество наше свободное,
Братских народов союз вековой,
Предками данная мудрость народная!
Славься, страна! Мы гордимся тобой!
Be glorious, our free Fatherland!
Age-old union of fraternal peoples,
Popular wisdom given by our forebears,
Be glorious, our country! We are proud of you!
От южных морей до полярного края
Раскинулись наши леса и поля.
Одна ты на свете! Одна ты такая —
Хранимая Богом родная земля!
From the southern seas to the polar lands
Spread our forests and fields.
You are unique in the world, one of a kind,
Native land protected by God!
Славься, Отечество наше свободное,
Братских народов союз вековой,
Предками данная мудрость народная!
Славься, страна! Мы гордимся тобой!
Be glorious, our free Fatherland!
Age-old union of fraternal peoples,
Popular wisdom given by our forebears,
Be glorious, our country! We are proud of you!
Широкий простор для мечты и для жизни
Грядущие нам открывают года.
Нам силу даёт наша верность Отчизне.
Так было, так есть и так будет всегда!
Wide spaces for dreams and for living
Are opened for us by the coming years
Our loyalty to our Fatherland gives us strength.
Thus it was, thus it is and always will be.
Славься, Отечество наше свободное,
Братских народов союз вековой,
Предками данная мудрость народная!
Славься, страна! Мы гордимся тобой!
Be glorious, our free Fatherland!
Age-old union of fraternal peoples,
Popular wisdom given by our forebears,
Be glorious, our country! We are proud of you!
