Quote Originally Posted by Basil77 View Post
Why 'old'? It's still our anthem, only lyrics is slightly changed, the music remains.
Yes, I am aware that the music is the same in both "older" and "newer" (if you prefer it that way) anthems. But I wouldn't say that the lyrics have "slightly" changed. The whole point is that the lyrics have changed fundamentally, that's what makes the two anthems different.

As a matter of fact, the only part that exists in both versions is "Славься Отечество, наше свободное!". True, that's perhaps the most beautiful part of the two versions, but still...

Oh, and I just remembered. Apart from identical music, there's another point that's common to both version: both lyrics were written by the same person! Now, that's unusual!