Adopted 1944 | Relinquished 1991 | |
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Lyrics Sarmen (Armenak Sarkisyan) Music Aram Khachaturian, 1944 | ||
The State Anthem of the Armenian SSR (Armenian: Հայկական ՍՍՀ օրհներգ, Haykakan SSH orhnerg, Cyrillic: Һайкакан ССҺ орһнерг; Russian: Гимн Армянской ССР, Gimn Armyanskoy SSR) was the national anthem of Armenia when it was a republic of the Soviet Union and known as the Armenian SSR.
Background
The anthem was used from 1944 to 1991. It was composed by Aram Khachaturian, a world-famous Armenian composer, who was known for his concertos and ballets, Spartacus and Gayane, the latter including the ever-popular Sabre Dance.
One of the heroics themes heards in the III Act of Gayane (1942) was later used by Khachaturian in music of this National Anthem.
Armenak Sarkisyan, who went under the pseudonym Sarmen, wrote the lyrics. Upon independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia adopted the anthem Mer Hayrenik ("Our Fatherland") in its place.