God save the Tsar! was the national anthem of Imperial Russia. 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 The Internationale as the new national anthem.

The melody can be heard in the 1812 Overture, and Firm Bound in Brotherhood, the official song of the Order of the Arrow, uses the same melody with different lyrics.

Russian lyrics

Боже, Царя храни!
Сильный, державный,
Царствуй на славу,
на славу нам!
Царствуй на страх врагам,
Царь православный,
Боже, Царя, Царя храни!
Царя храни!
(repeat previous three lines)

Transliteration

Bozhe Carja hrani!
Sil'nyj, derzhavnyj,
Carstvuj na slavu,
na slavu nam!
Carstvuj na strah vragam,

Car' pravoslavnyj.
Bozhe Carja, Carja hrani!
Carja hrani!
(repeat previous three lines)

English Translation

God save the noble Tsar!
Long may he live, in power,
In happiness,
In peace to reign!
Dread of his enemies,

Faith's sure defender,
God save the Tsar!
God save the Tsar!
(repeat previous three lines)

External links

Full text, from Wikisource (http://sources.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Tsar)