Upper chamber backs Soviet anthem

The Soviet anthem praised dictator Josef Stalin

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia's upper house of parliament has voted overwhelmingly to adopt the music of the Soviet anthem as the national hymn.

The Federation Council passed the law on Wednesday with 144 votes in favour, one against, and two abstentions.

The State Duma, or lower house, passed the law on December 8 and it will now be sent to President Vladimir Putin for signature before the new year.

Regional governors who serve in the Federation Council stood respectfully as the anthem, composed by Alexander Alexandrov during World War II, was played in the chamber after the vote.

AUDIO Hear the old Soviet anthem 829K/77 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

New lyrics to replace the anthem's one-time praise for Soviet founder Lenin and dictator Josef Stalin have yet to be adopted.

The governors also approved a twin-headed eagle and tricolour white, blue and red flag, which date from Tsarist times, as Russia's official state symbols.

The symbols were put forward by Putin as a compromise using both Communist and Tsarist-era elements from the nation's history.

Left-wing lawmakers hailed the return to the stirring "Unbreakable Union" melody and the army's retention of the Soviet-style red flag as its official banner.

But dismayed liberals sounded a warning against adopting symbols tainted by Stalin's bloody repression.

For the first time since Russia emerged in 1991 from seven decades of Soviet rule, the legislation provides the country with an official coat of arms, flag and anthem.

Former President Boris Yeltsin dumped the Soviet anthem in the early 1990s, imposing instead an obscure melody by 19th century composer Mikhail Glinka which quite failed to fire the popular imagination.

A national competition is to be held to find new words for the Alexandrov tune, although poet Sergei Mikhalkov, who wrote the original words in 1943, has drafted a new text which has support in the Kremlin.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

Duma approves old Soviet anthem
December 8, 2000
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December 7, 2000
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Soviet national anthem
The Government of the Russian Federation

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