Anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

The State Anthem of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was the anthem of Belarus from 1955 to 1991 when it was a part of the former Soviet Union.

It took 11 years to create the lyrics for the anthem, even producing a version that mentions then-Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The music was composed by Niescier Sakałowski, and the lyrics were written by Michas Klimkovič, who also created the current national anthem.

In 1991, when Belarus gained independence from the Soviet Union, it retained the melody of the Soviet-era regional anthem but got rid of the lyrics. In 2002, new lyrics were written to the same tune for the State Anthem of the Republic of Belarus.

History

On 3 February 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree "On the State Anthems of the Soviet Republics". The Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR responded by instituting anthems by their most prominent composers, while the Lithuanian SSR reverted to its old anthem, "Tautiška giesmė".