22 May 2025

National Anthem of the Russian Empire: God Save the Tsar


"God Save the Tsar!" was the national anthem of the Russian Empire. The song was chosen from a competition held in 1833 and was first performed on 18 December 1833. The composer was violinist Alexei Lvov, and the lyrics were by the court poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It was the anthem until the Russian Revolution of 1917, after which "Worker's Marseillaise" was adopted as the new national anthem until the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government.

Lyrics:

Russian Original:

𝄆 Боже, Царя храни!
Сильный, державный,
Царствуй на славу, на славу намъ! 𝄇

𝄆 Царствуй на страхъ врагамъ,
Царь православный!
Боже, Царя храни! 𝄇

Transliterated:

𝄆 Bózhe, Tsaryá khraní!
Sílnyy, derzhávnyy,
Tsárstvuy na slávu, na slávu nam! 𝄇

𝄆 Tsárstvuy na strakh vragam,
Tsar pravoslávnyy!
Bózhe, Tsaryá khraní! 𝄇

English Translation:

𝄆 God, save the Tsar!
Strong and sovereign,
Reign for glory, for our glory! 𝄇

𝄆 Reign to make enemies fear,
Orthodox Tsar!
God, save the Tsar! 𝄇

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