My favorite national anthem of all time...

Call me a traitor, but from the very first time I heard it, I fell in love with the National Anthem of the U.S.S.R. Maybe it's the tradition of Russian Romantic Composers like Tschaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. And since the breakup of the Soviet Union, it's an anthem without a country (well, it's been re-adopted with new lyrics)...it makes me think of the long suffering of the Russian people, and their tradition in the arts and culture. Majestic and somber...

In any event, here it is as a 16K MIDI file...enjoy and reflect. For much more information on the anthem, or "hymn," see the The Soviet National Anthem is Available Here website.

I like the version by the Alexandrov Soviet Army Ensemble ...very impressive; almost as good as the original recording in 1944.