Deputy Proposes Change In Russia's National Anthem to Remove Reference To God

Interfax reported yesterday that a member of the Russian State Duma representing the Communist Party has introduced a bill to change one line in the Russian Federation's national anthem. Deputy Boris Kashin wants to change "You, Our one Native land, protected by God!" to "You, Our one Native land, protected by us!" An explanatory note to the proposal says that since a substantial part of the Russian population does not believe in God, the current anthem does not correspond to their beliefs.