The State Anthem of the Lithuanian SSR was the national anthem

National anthem

A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...

 of Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 when it was a republic of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and known as the Lithuanian SSR

Lithuanian SSR

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...

.

Background

This Soviet era anthem was imposed by the Lithuanian SSR government in 1950, replacing the outlawed national anthem of the Republic of Lithuania (Tautiška giesmė

Tautiška giesme

Tautiška giesmė is the national anthem of Lithuania, also known by its opening words "Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų" and as "Lietuvos himnas"...

). The music was composed by Balys Dvarionas

Balys Dvarionas

Balys Dvarionas, in Liepāja — 23 August 1972 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian and Soviet composer, pianist, conductor and educationalist. Dvarionas displayed himself as a composer after World War II. His works are abundant with romanticism, and the pieces are based on folk songs.-...

 and Jonas Švedas

Jonas Švedas

Jonas Švedas was a Lithuanian and Soviet composer. He was the People's Artist of the USSR in 1954.-References:...

, and the words were originally written by Antanas Venclova

Antanas Venclova

Antanas Venclova was a Lithuanian and Soviet politician, poet, journalist and translator.- Early life :He studied Lithuanian, Russian and French at the Vytautas Magnus University, in Kaunas. In 1936, Venclova visited the USSR, and became fascinated with the Soviet system and its culture...

. After Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

's death, the second stanza of the lyrics was changed by Vacys Reimeris

Vacys Reimeris

Vatsis Reimeris - a Lithuanian Soviet poet, translator, honored culture Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic ....

 to remove mention of Stalin. The second stanza lyrics were changed to state that Lenin had lit the path to freedom, helped by the Russian people, led by the party (Reimeris changed the word "Stalin" to "party") and exhorted the Lithuanian people to work with peoples of the other Soviet Republics. This Soviet era anthem was confirmed in Article 169 of the 1978 Constitution of the Lithuanian SSR (this is the version presented below). In 1988, the national anthem of the Republic of Lithuania (Tautiška giesmė

Tautiška giesme

Tautiška giesmė is the national anthem of Lithuania, also known by its opening words "Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų" and as "Lietuvos himnas"...

) was once again openly utilized as the Lithuanian anthem, and its status as the national anthem was restored by the independent Lithuanian government in 1992.

The Soviet era anthem for the Lithuanian SSR is presented below:

Lithuanian Lyrics Tarybinę Lietuvą liaudis sukūrė, Už laisvę ir tiesą kovojus ilgai. Kur Vilnius, kur Nemunas, Baltijos jūra, Ten klesti mūs miestai, derlingi laukai. Tarybų Sąjungoj šlovingoj, Tarp lygių lygi ir laisva, Gyvuok per amžius, būk laiminga, Brangi Tarybų Lietuva! Į laisvę mums Leninas nušvietė kelią, Padėjo kovoj didi rusų tauta. Mus Partija* veda į laimę ir galią, Tautų mūs draugystė kaip plienas tvirta. Tarybų Sąjungoj šlovingoj, Tarp lygių lygi ir laisva, Gyvuok per amžius, būk laiminga, Brangi Tarybų Lietuva! Tėvynė galinga, nebijom pavojų, Tebūna padangė taiki ir tyra. Mes darbu sukursim didingą rytojų, Ir žemę nušvies komunizmo aušra. Tarybų Sąjungoj šlovingoj, Tarp lygių lygi ir laisva, Gyvuok per amžius, būk laiminga, Brangi Tarybų Lietuva! * The original lyrics by Antanas Venclova contained the line "Mus Stalinas veda į laimę ir galią" (modified by Vacys Reimeris as part of the Soviet de-Stalinization campaign).

English translation Soviet Lithuania was created by the people, Who long fought for the freedom and truth. Where Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County... , where Nemunas, where the Baltic Sea Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and... , Let our cities, fertile fields to prosper. In the glorious Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... , Among equals Republics of the Soviet Union The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union... , equal and free, Live forever and be happy, Dear Soviet Lithuania! Lenin lit us the path to freedom, The great Russian people Russians The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....  helped in the struggle. The party Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world... * leads us to happiness and good, The friendship of our nations is as firm as steel. In the glorious Soviet Union, Between equals, equal and free, Live forever and be happy, Dear Soviet Lithuania! Our homeland is mighty, we fear no dangers, Let the skies be peaceful and pure. With our work we'll create a great tomorrow, And the dawn of Communism Communism Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production... will light the Earth. In the glorious Soviet Union, Between equals, equal and free, Live forever and be happy, Dear Soviet Lithuania! * The original lyrics by Antanas Venclova contained the line "Stalin leads us to happiness and good" (modified by Vacys Reimeris as part of the Soviet de-Stalinization campaign).

External links

• MIDI file
• Vocal recording in MP3 format
• Lyrics - nationalanthems.info