"The Prayer of Russians" is a patriotic hymn that was used as the national anthem of Imperial Russia from 1816 to 1833. After defeating the First French Empire, Tsar Alexander I of Russia recommended a national anthem for Russia. The lyrics were written by Vasily Zhukovsky, and the music of the British anthem "God Save the King" was used. In 1833, "The Prayer of Russians" was replaced with "God Save the Tsar". The two songs both have identical incipits: «Боже, царя храни». Some consider "God Save the Tsar" Russia's first true national anthem, as both its words and music were Russian. Others say that the title belongs to "Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble!", another popular song at the time, although it never had official status.

Lyrics

The last four stanzas were seldomly used.