Russia
"Internatsional" (The Internationale)

Words by: Eugene Pottier
Music by: Pierre Degeyter
In use: 1917-1922

After the abdication of the last czar in 1917, the government system was in disarray, with various factions fighting for power. Needless to say, there were also various national anthems in use between the abdication of the czar in March of that year, and the overthrow of the provisional government by the Bolsheviks in November.

These are the main candidates for the Russian national anthem during the transitionary time of 1917:

• "How Glorious Our Lord Is In Zion", a religious song with lyrics (zip file of lyrics) by the poet Mikhail Heraskov and melody (sheet music) by Dmitriy Bortnyanskiy, which was considered the unofficial "spiritual anthem" of Russia. It was used at some ceremonies by the provisional government, and was first used with different lyrics by V. Cheshihin in the spring of that year. This hymn is currently used by Russia's Masons.
• "The Marseillaise", with the original French lyrics, used mainly by "literal liberals", who knew French.
• "The Worker's Marseillaise", which was sung to a tune very similar to "La Marseillaise", altered somewhat to fit the different lyrics (zip file of lyrics), written by Pyotr Lavrov and first published in 1875. This anthem was used by the more radical socialists.
• "The Internationale", used by the Bolsheviks.

After the provisional government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in November, 1917, the Bolsheviks used their anthem, "The Internationale" to open the May 1, 1918 session of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. The party anthem became Russia's anthem until it joined with other neighbouring countries to form the Soviet Union in 1922, when it became the anthem of the new country as a whole. However, it was never formally adopted as the national anthem of either country, yet was used informally on a de facto basis.

The song was originally written by two Frenchmen, both ardent socialists. The lyrics, written in 1870, were originally meant to be sung to the tune of "La Marseillaise", but the current melody was composed in 1888 and became the official melody of the poem. The song is traditionally sung with the right hand raised in a clenched-fist salute.

Special thanks to: Pavel Zinovatny for some of this information and Jerry Engelbach for providing the sheet music and MIDI.

See also: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922-1944), Russia (1815-1833), Russia (1833-1917), Russia (1990-2000), Russia (2000-).