"God Save the Tsar!" (Russian: Боже, Царя храни!) was the national anthem of the late Russian Empire. The song was chosen from a competition held in 1833. The composer was violinist Prince Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov, and the lyrics were by the Romantic court poet Vasily Zhukovsky. It served until 1917, when the Russian Revolution overthrew the Tsarist monarchy and adopted first The Marseillaise and then The Internationale as the new national anthem.

The melody can be heard in the 1812 Overture, Marche Slave, "Hail, Pennsylvania!" (which was the official state song of Pennsylvania), "God, the Omnipotent!"; "Firm Bound in Brotherhood", the official song of the Order of the Arrow, uses the same melody with different lyrics.

Sample lyrics

Russian

Боже, Царя храни!

Сильный, державный,

Царствуй на славу,

На славу нам!

( 2x :)

Царствуй на страх врагам,

Царь православный.

Боже, Царя,

Царя храни!

( 2x :)

Transliteration

Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!

Sil'nyy, derzhavnyy,

Tsarstvuy na slavu,

Na slavu nam!

( 2x :)

Tsarstvuy na strakh vragam,

Tsar' pravoslavnyy.

Bozhe, Tsarya,

Tsarya khrani!

( 2x :)

English translation

O God, save the Tsar!

Strong and majestic,

Reign for glory,

For our glory!

( 2x :)

Inspire dread in your enemies,

O Orthodox Tsar.

God, save the Tsar,

Save the Tsar!

( 2x :)

External links

• Russian Anthems museum

National anthems | Royal anthems | Russian songs

Боже, Царя храни | Jumal, keisrit kaitse Sa | Dios salve al Zar | 보제, 차랴 흐라니 | Боже, Царя храни | Боже, Царя храни | Боже, Царя храни | Боже чувај го царот | Боже, Царя храни | ロシア帝国の国歌 | Boże chroń cara | Deus, salve o Czar | Гимн Российской империи | Боже, Царя храни