Historical Anthem: Soviet Union - Государственный гимн СССР (1977 Version)

Государственный гимн СССР - Gosudarstvenny Gimn SSSR - State Anthem of the USSR
National Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик - Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik)

Written - Sergey Mikhalkov - 1943 & 1977
Music - Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov - 1938
Adopted - 1944 (1977 modified version)
Relinquished - 1991 (Anthem of the Soviet Union)

The Anthem of the Soviet Union was played for the first time on the Soviet radio at midnight on 1 January 1944. The 1944 lyrics had three different refrains following three different stanzas; in each refrain, the second line was consequently modified with references to friendship, then happiness and finally to glory. Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union's war against Nazi Germany were originally invoked in the lyrics.With the process of de-Stalinization inaugurated after Stalin's death, the lyrics which referred to Stalin were considered unacceptable and the anthem was performed without lyrics. A notable exception took place at the 1976 Canada Cup ice hockey tournament, where the singer Roger Doucet insisted on performing the anthem with lyrics, after consultations with Russian studies scholars from Université de Montréal and the Soviet team officials. In 1977, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, revised lyrics, earlier written in 1970 by the original author Sergey Mikhalkov, were adopted. The varying refrains were replaced by a uniform refrain following all stanzas; the line praising Stalin was dropped, as were the lines referring to the Great Patriotic War.