In this paper I argue that it is necessary to distinguish between stress which is inherent in words and stress which is assigned at a phrasal level. More specifically, I argue that secondary stress in Russian compounds is superimposed on the existing word stress contours by rhythm. Support in favor of this claim comes from the distribution of secondary stress in Russian poetry. I show that secondary stress in Tutčev's verse is assigned to the first constituent of compounds only in strong metrical positions.