Mer Hajrenikh ( Մեր Հայրենիք / Мер Һајрениқ, [mɛɾ hɑjɾɛˈnikʰ] ; 'Our Fatherland') is the national anthem of Armenia, composed by Barsegh Kanachyan and written by Mikael Nalbandian in 1861. It was first adopted in 1918 as the anthem of the First Republic of Armenia, but when the country became part of the Soviet Union, this song became banned and was instead replaced by the Armenian SSR anthem. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, "Mer Hajrenikh" was successfully restored with minor changes to the lyrics.