"Life has become better" () is a widespread version of a phrase uttered by former Soviet Communist Party General Secretary

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

at the First All-Union Meeting of the

Stakhanovites The term Stakhanovite () originated in the Soviet Union and referred to workers who modeled themselves after Alexey Stakhanov. These workers took pride in their ability to produce more than was required, by working harder and more efficiently, th ...

on November 17, 1935. The full quote from Joseph Stalin was, when translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Song

In approximately 1936 the words were used in the chorus of a song of the same name, with music by Alexander Alexandrov and words by

Vasily Lebedev-Kumach Vasily Ivanovich Lebedev-Kumach () Moscow, — 20 February 1949) was a Soviet poet and lyricist. Biography Vasily was born August 5, 1898 to a shoe maker. He went on to work in the printing department of the Revolutionary Military Counci ...

. The opening bars of the song and some sequences share a notable resemblance to those of the

State Anthem of the Soviet Union The "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original lyrics were written b ...

, as the two songs had the same composer, and elements of the song "Life Has Become Better" were used in composing the State Anthem. Alexandrov apparently liked the opening bars of this piece. He used them again, with only minor alterations, just a few years later in the tune for the "

" (1944-1991). The

Russian Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

officially readopted the Aleksandrov's Soviet Anthem as the

National anthem of Russia The "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" is the national anthem of Russia. It uses the same melody as the "State Anthem of the Soviet Union", composed by Alexander Alexandrov, and new lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov, who had collaborated with ...

on December 2000, as part of a political compromise. New words were written by

Sergey Mikhalkov Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (russian: link=no, Серге́й Влади́мирович Михалко́в; 27 August 2009) was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical fables. He wrote the lyrics for the Soviet and Russ ...

Lyrics

References

{{reflist Russian words and phrases Soviet phraseology Propaganda in the Soviet Union 1935 in the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin Soviet songs Russian patriotic songs 1930s neologisms

Song

Lyrics

See also

References