Writer of Russian anthem (3 times) passes away at 96

This from History Today. Sergei Mikhalkov, the man behind the witing, the rewriting, and the re-rewriting of the Soviet, now Russian, national anthem has passed away. His life bookends some of the twentieth century's most turbulent regimes, and is a reminder of the ghosts of Stalinism that continue to linger. By comparison,O Canada (penned by lawyers) has withstood attempts at major revisions for quite some time, especially in the French. But it's easy to forget it's only been official since 1980.