The Prayer of Russians
Encyclopedia
The Prayer of Russians was a song used as 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 Imperial Russia from 1816 to 1833.

After defeating the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

, Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

 recommended a national anthem for Russia. The lyrics were written by Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century...

, and the music of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 anthem God Save the King was used.

In 1833, "The Prayer of Russians" was replaced with "God Save the Tsar" (Bozhe, tsarya khrani). The two songs both start with the same words Bozhe, tsarya khrani but differ after that.

Some consider God Save the Tsar Russia's first true national anthem, as both its words and music were Russian. Others say the title belongs to Grom pobedy, razdavaysya!, another popular song of the time, although it never had official status.

Lyrics

In Russian

Боже, Царя храни!

Славному долги дни

Дай на земли!

Гордыхъ смирителю,

Слабыхъ хранителю,

Всѣхъ утѣшителю — все ниспошли!

Перводержавную

Русь православную

Боже, храни!

Царство ей стройное,

Въ силѣ спокойное!

Всё-жъ нѣдостойное

Прочь отжени!

О, Провидѣніе!

Благословеніе

Намъ низпошли!

Къ благу стремленіе,

Въ счастье смиреніе,

Въ скорби терпѣніе

Дай на земли!

Transliterated Lyrics

Bozhe, tsarya khrani!

Slavnomu dolgi dni

Day na zemli! (2X)

Gordykh smiritelyu,

Slabykh khranitelyu,

Vsyekh uteshitelyu -

Vsyë nisposhli!

Pervoderzhavnuyu

Rus' pravoslavnuyu

Bozhe, khrani!

Tsarstvo yey storoynoye!

V sile spokoynoye!

Vsë-zh nedostoynoye

Proch' otzheni!

O, Provideniye!

Blagosloveniye

Nam nisposhli!

K blagu stremlenye,

V schast'ye smireniye,

V skorbi terpeniye

Day na zemli!

In English

God, save the Tsar!

To the glorious one, long days

Give on this earth!

To the subduer of the proud,

To the keeper of the weak

To the comforter of everyone,

Grant everything!

The land of the first throne,

Orthodox Russia,

God, do save!

(Make) her tzardom harmonious,

Calm in strength;

And everything unworthy

Drive away!

O Providence!

Blessing

Grant to us!

Aspiration to good,

Humility in happiness,

Patience in sorrow

Give on this earth!

Sources

http://www.hymn.ru/soboleva-russian-national-symbols/ (in Russian), http://www.hymn.ru/index-en.html (contains an audio recording of Molitva russkikh by Valaam choir)
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