The anthem was used from 1944 to 1992. It was composed by Uzeyir Hajibeyov, who also composed the March of Azerbaijan, the current national anthem of Azerbaijan. Suleyman Rustam, Samad Vurgun and Huseyn Arif wrote the lyrics which were changed in 1978 to remove mentions of Joseph Stalin. Like many national anthems of the republics of the Soviet Union, this song praised Vladimir Lenin (and formerly Joseph Stalin as well), the October Revolution and Communism. It also praised the friendship of the republics of the Soviet Union. It was the anthem of Azerbaijan when it gained independence until 1992 when the March of Azerbaijan was restored.