As a 29-year-old in 1942, Mikhalkov's work drew the attention of the Soviet Union's dictator Joseph Stalin, who commissioned him to write lyrics for a new national hymn. At the time, the country was deeply embroiled in World War II and Stalin wanted a Russian theme for the national anthem, to replace the Internationale.
Mikhalkov penned words to accompany a musical score by the composer Alexander Alexandrov (1883-1946) that became known as Gimn Sovetskogo Soyuza, or the "Hymn of the Soviet Union." The new hymn was presented to Stalin in the summer of 1943 and was introduced as the country's new anthem on January 1, 1944.
It continued in that role until 1991, when the Soviet anthem was retired by President Boris Yeltsin after the USSR broke up. However, when Vladimir Putin took over for Yeltsin in 2000, he began to clamor for a restoration of Alexandrov's stirring music in place of Yeltsin's choice, which most Russians found uninspiring.
Mikhalkov was 87 years old by this time and long since retired; in fact, he is better known in modern Russia as the father of popular film maker Nikita Mikhalkov. But when Putin's push to restore the old anthem began to pick up momentum, he picked up his pen once again, and wrote new lyrics to go with Alexandrov's score. The result was the Gimn Rossiyskaya Federatsiya ("Hymn of the Russian Federation"), which was officially adopted as the Russian national anthem in 2001.
He currently lives in Moscow, and on his 90th birthday in 2003, Putin personally visited him at his home to present him with the 2nd class Order For Service to Fatherland, citing him for his contributions to Russian culture.