NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow that Russia looks ready to bring back the Soviet national anthem - without the references to Lenin and the indestructible union of Soviet republics, of course. President Vladimir Putin says the country should keep the melody, because throwing out all symbols of the Soviet past would mean "our mothers and fathers lived in vain." The Russian parliament, or Duma, is expected to vote on the matter Friday. Former President Boris Yeltsin chose a melody by the 19th century composer Mikhail Glinka as the post-Soviet anthem, but the hymn never caught on. Lawmakers could never agree on words.
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