Until 1997, Turkmenistan, which received independence in six years before the national anthem was performed in the Turkmen SSR version without words as the official anthem. The new anthem was adopted on 27 September 1996 by the People's Council of Turkmenistan in Bayramali. Anthem, known by the first sentence of the chorus "The great creation of Turkmenbashi", was in office from 1997 to 2008.