Anthem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic

The State Anthem of the Byelorussian SSR (Belarusian: Дзяржаўны гімн Беларускай Савецкай Сацыялiстычнай Рэспублiкi, Dziaržawny himn Biełaruskaj Savieckaj Sacyjalistyčnaj Respubliki) was the state anthem of Belarus when it was a republic of the Soviet Union and known as the Byelorussian SSR. The anthem was used from 1952 until Belarusian independence in 1991. It took over 11 years to create the music and lyrics for the anthem, even producing a version that mentions then-Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The music was composed by Nestar Sakalowski (Нестар Сакалоўскі), and the lyrics were written by Mihas' Klimovich (Міхась Клімковіч). The melody is used in the current national anthem of Belarus, with different lyrics.