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St. Petersburg Anthem

Natasha Yefimova reports that officials in St. Petersburg, Russia, are considering lyrics for the city anthem. For decades, in train stations, at weddings and official city functions, residents have played music from a ballet based on Alexander Pushkin's poem about the city called The Bronze Horseman. Now, a prominent composer is suggesting lyrics for the hymn. He's re-writing the Pushkin poem to fit the meter... and has omitted themes that could be politically sensitive. The Petersburg city establishment wants to avoid the kind of controversy President Vladimir Putin stirred up when he restored the music of the Soviet national anthem, adding new lyrics.

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