Sergey Mikhalkov

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Sergey Mikhalkov during meetings of Soviet authors during the 60th anniversary of Victory in May of 2005

Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (Russian: Сергей Владимирович Михалков) (born March 13, 1913) is a Russian author of children's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write the lyrics of his country's national anthem on three different occasions, spanning almost 60 years.

Mikhalkov stemmed from a noble family and had tsarist admirals, governors, and princes among his grandparents. Since the 1930s, he has rivalled Korney Chukovsky and Agniya Barto as the most popular poet writing for Russophone children. His poems about enormously tall "Uncle Styopa" ("Дядя Стёпа") enjoyed particular popularity.

As a 29-year-old in 1942, Mikhalkov's work drew the attention of the Soviet Union's leader Joseph Stalin, who commissioned him to write lyrics for a new national anthem. At the time, the country was deeply embroiled in World War II and Stalin wanted a Russian theme for the national anthem, to replace the Internationale.

Mikhalkov penned words to accompany a musical score by the composer Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946) that became known as National Anthem of the Soviet Union or the "Hymn". The new anthem was presented to Stalin in the summer of 1943 and was introduced as the country's new anthem on January 1, 1944.

Upon the death of Stalin in 1953, the lyrics, which mentioned him by name, were discarded during the process of destalinization and the anthem continued to be used without words. Mikhalkov wrote new lyrics in 1970, but they were not submitted to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet until May 27, 1977. The new lyrics, which removed any reference to Stalin, were approved on September 1 and were made official with the printing of the new Soviet Constitution in October 1977.

Use of the Soviet anthem, with Mikhalkov's lyrics, continued until 1991, when it was retired by President Boris Yeltsin after the USSR broke up. However, when Vladimir Putin took over from Yeltsin in 2000, he began to clamor for a restoration of Alexandrov's stirring music in place of Yeltsin's choice.

Mikhalkov was 87 years old by this time and long since retired; in fact, he is better known in modern Russia (or rather - by the new generation of Russians) as the father of popular film makers Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrey Konchalovsky – who had dropped part of his name "Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky" when he left Russia. But when Putin's push to restore the old anthem began to pick up momentum, he picked up his pen once again, and wrote new lyrics to go with Alexandrov's score. The result was the National Anthem of Russia, which was officially adopted in 2001.

Apart from the national anthem, Mikhalkov produced a great number of satirical plays and provided scripts for several Soviet comedies. He also successfully revived a long derelict genre of satirical fable. He was awarded three Stalin Prizes (1941, 1942, 1950) and numerous other awards.

He currently lives in Moscow, and on his 90th birthday in 2003, Putin personally visited him at his home to present him with the 2nd class Order For Service to Fatherland, citing him for his contributions to culture of Russia. Mikhalkov was also decorated with a Hero of Socialist Labor and the Order of Lenin, among others, for his work during the Soviet era.