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VOTE! WHICH ARE YOUR FAVES? My Ultimate Collection of 14 Best Russian Love Songs!
My collection of some of the best and most famous hit LOVE songs from Russia. I chose them for you to expand on the lovely topic of March 8: What’s So Unusual About March 8?! International Women’s Day Special!
The songs aren’t in any particular order. By the way, the Russian song lyrics is usually very meaningful and often profound; it normally adds to the perception of a song. I’ve translated some of the lyrics, to give you an idea of what each song is about. But the music is lovely and beautiful in its own right, so enjoy!
Let me know in comments which of these you enjoyed best! Also, I am hearing these with my Russian ear, and I understand the lyrics and the rhythmics of a Russian song. But I am genuinely curious how those who don’t understand the words hear these? How do you think these are different and how do you like them compared, for instance, to English language love songs, and/or such songs in other languages? Your impressions are most welcome!
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BEST CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN LOVE SONGS
I’ll Stay, Aya & Gorod 312 band
Город 312, Останусь
The lyrics is beautiful, and the melody is even better. Brief translation:
“In the end of tunnel, the bright light of a blind star…
A lingering trace of my soles on dry leaves…
I still feel the pulse, and an urge to live…
I may never return, but perhaps I’ll stay…
I’ll stay as ashes on your lips,
I’ll stay as fire in your eyes,
As a breath of wind in your hands.
I’ll stay as snow on your cheek,
I’ll stay as a far away light,
I’ll remain your light… Your light…”
How Enchanting are the Nights in Russia… White Eagle band, Kremlin
The melody is beautiful and truly enchanting.
БЕЛЫЙ ОРЕЛ, КАК УПОИТЕЛЬНЫ В РОССИИ ВЕЧЕРА, КРЕМЛЬ
Brief translation:
“Perhaps it’s just dream and love is just a game,
Perhaps my feelings are nothing to you,
Whether in this or other world, I’ll never forget
How enchanting are the Russian nights…”
I Don’t Regret (theme song from the hit 2000s Russian TV series, Poor Nastia, a mesmerizing 19th century paranormal historic drama)
Мне не жаль… [Владимир/Анна/Михаил] “Бедная Настя”
Lyrics, brief translation:
I don’t regret that the fire in my blood has burned and tore at my heart,
But I regret that in the past I lived without love, I regret that I didn’t love enough.
I never stopped loving you, and my soul calls out your name.
With all my heart I pray to creator for you…
Love That Feels Like a Dream, Lara Fabian
A bit of the lovely lyrics:
‘Love that feels like a dream,
The crystal peeling of our hearts,
Your magical ‘I love you,’
I’ll quietly echo back to you.
Love that feels like a dream
Has made my home a happy place,
And contrary to the law of dreams,
May it never end.’
Любовь Похожая На Сон
I Love You to Tears, Aleksandr Serov
Александр Серов – Я люблю тебя до слёз (Ya lublu tebya do slez)
Nice dramatic lyrics! Brief translation:
“I love you to tears
Every breath is like the first time
Instead of a lie of pretty words
I give you a cloud made of roses
With these white rose petals I’ll make our bed
I love you to tears, I love you like mad…
Unfinished Romance, Irina Alegrova and Igor Krutoi (author)
Ирина Аллегрова и Игорь Крутой, Незаконченный роман
starts at 0:33 :
Autumn Leaves, Alla Pugacheva (episode from the acclaimed 2000s film ‘The Admiral’).
Алла Пугачева – Осенние листья
FAMOUS SOVIET LOVE SONGS
I think for the most part you’ll find that Soviet songs were quieter, more melodic and less dramatic than the contemporary Russian songs. But the lyrics and essence was just as, or even more, epic and significant. The lyrics often is very good and full of wisdom.
A Million of Crimson Roses (Rus translit: Milion Alyh Roz), Alla Pugacheva, early 1980s. Pugacheva at the time was one of the biggest names in Soviet and world pop music. For the USSR she was pretty revolutionary, as her style was non-traditional; she was more Western than Russians were used to. Pugacheva’s singing contributed in subtle ways to the USSR collapse, as consciousness awakened through many things, including her songs. Interestingly, to this day she remains a neo-liberal. But she can sing, and for that much is forgiven.
This is a pretty straightforward story of a poor artist who fell in love with a famous actress and to impress her he sold his house and works and bought a million of crimson roses to fill the square in front of her residence. They never saw each other again, but both carried a memory of that day forever. This simple story doesn’t compare in depth to other lyrics in this compilation, but the song became very famous.
I’ll Never Forget You. Dmitry Karachentsov (lead). From the legendary hit musical of the ’80s, Yunona and Avos. The musical was so famous that well-known Western musicians lined up for a chance to be in it.
This dramatic musical is about two Russian navy ships, Yunona and Avos, that arrived on a friendly visit to Latin America in the 19th century. The young daughter of a local Spanish governor falls in love with a Russian officer, who is under orders to leave back home, but promises to return for her. He dies before being able to fulfill his promise. The song is about their eternal love and the fact that they understand they may never see each other again. She promises to be his guiding light, his sail on the way back home; her love would protect him.
Юнона и Авось – Я тебя никогда не забуду
Don’t Promise a Young Maiden (theme song from the famous Soviet film, The Captivating Star of Happiness, 1975) (Russian: Звезда пленительного счастья, translit. Zvezda plenitelnogo schastya)
The film is about the 1825 failed Decembrist coup against Tsar Nikolay I; the mutineer officers are sent to Siberia and their aristocratic wives face an excruciating decision of whether to follow their husbands into harsh exile. Here’s the film’s Wikipedia page.
‘Don’t promise a young maiden eternal love on earth…”
The song is simply charming, reminiscing of the care-free days when various protagonists first met and fell in love.
Не обещайте деве юной (Романс)
Echo of Love, Anna German and Lev Leshchenko (One of the Songs of the Year 1977)
Anna German was a Polish singer, who became famous for her performance of the Russian songs.
Анна Герман и Лев Лещенко “Эхо любви” Песня года – 1977
Hope, My Earthly Compass
Another beloved Soviet hit, performed by many singers, but Anna German’s version was probably the best. The song is about holding on to your love no matter the distance. It was written with an idea of the families of pilots and stewardesses in mind, who often flew in different directions and whose meetings were rare.
Анна Герман – Надежда, мой компас земной (Nadezhda, moy kompass zemnoy)
Tenderness (alt. title: The Earth Is Empty Without You). The song was written for the cosmonauts flying off into space and their loved ones. The narrative is from a female standpoint, she misses the love of her life, and so does Mother Earth; she is asking him to fly back home soon. But the song goes deeper, and has a resonance with those who passed and left this world, and how much the living miss them.
Майя Кристалинская – Нежность (Опустела без тебя земля)
Eternal Love, Charles Aznavour – Russian and French versions (From the legendary Soviet film, Teheran-43, about the secret 1943 meeting of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill in Iran, a successful prevention by Russian intelligence of the German terrorist plot against three leaders – Roosevelt ended up staying at the Russian embassy for security reasons – and a love story that developed between two main characters.)
Шарль Азнавур “Вечная любовь” Russian version
ORIGINAL SONG WITH THE FILM CLIP: Eternal Love,Charles Aznavour. The original theme song, with the actual footage from the movie “Tegeran-43”. The theme of an undying love, a life lived in love, is dramatically contrasted and juxtaposed in the film to the horrifying images of WWII, but the ending depicts a brief reunion of the two lovers, Russian intelligence officer and a Russian-French lady, many years later in Paris. In the French version of the film, they ‘shyly’ omitted the powerful footage of the WWII devastation, but the Russian version showed it in full. Mosfilm, the rights owner, doesn’t allow video reposting, so just click on link to watch this clip!
French version: Mireille Mathieu & Charles Aznavour, Une vie d amour
Wishing you a Wonderful, Happy and Healthy New Year! May all your sacred wishes come true!
Dear friends, readers and followers,
Lada and Az are wishing you a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year!
May all your sacred wishes come true!
C новым годом! C новым счастьем!
Frohes neues Jahr
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Gelukkig nieuwjaar
Bonne année!
新年快乐 / 新年快樂 (Xīnnián kuàilè)
For Russians the biggest annual holiday is the New Year. I have done big posts for previous New Years, where I gave recommendations for various New Year’s films, posted holiday music, beautiful images and videos, as well as gave the history and lore of the Winter Holidays. In the end of this post you’ll see the links to my past articles. This time, on the light holiday note I want to share with you some of Russian New Year / Christmas pics and traditions.
So you know, in Russia that well-known magical guy who gives out presents is called ‘Ded Moroz’ (Grandfather Frost). He is the equivalent of the Western Santa, but per Russians, he definitely, no question about it, resides in the ancient town of Veliky Ustyug, in northern Russia.
Here’s Putin, together with Ded Moroz at his official residence in Veliky Ustyug ~
Ded Moroz doesn’t come for Christmas, as in the West. He comes for New Year’s, which is (if I may say so myself) the right way of doing things. 😉
Why? You probably know by now that in fact the figure of Ded Moroz / Santa Claus / San Nickolas is a pagan spirit, or god, of winter. At one point it was absorbed by Western Christianity so that to entice more people to convert. Russian Orthodox Christians, shall we say, were a bit more honest about it.
Regardless of what he’s called and when he comes, we all love and welcome him, along with his companion, who in Russia is his beautiful granddaughter, Snegurochka (snow maiden). Snegurochka is certainly also an original Vedic nature goddess character.
As seen on top pic, Russian Ded Moroz brings his gifts normally in a sleigh pulled by three horses, not by reindeer.
This is the northern Russian version of Ded Moroz, straight out of ancient legends — the true Vedic God of Winter. Look at his outfit (remember my Forbidden History articles on FuturisTrendcast?) Read the rest of this entry
New Year 2017 on FuturisTrendcast! Fairytale Moscow, New Year Stories, Best Russian Films ENG Subs
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY WONDERFUL READERS & FOLLOWERS!
MAY THE YEAR 2017 BRING YOU JOY, HAPPINESS & PEACE!
Welcome to Live New Year on FuturisTrendcast!
The party runs from today, Dec. 31, 2016 till Jan. 2, 2017. During this virtual gathering, I’ll be posting the views of the fairytale New Year’s Moscow, my favorite Russian New Year movies, with English subs, as well as my personal international, cool, funny and bizarre New Year’s stories!
Everyone’s cordially invited to the party. In the comment section you are also invited to share your own New Year’s stories, New Year pics and celebration videos from your country and home!
LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!!
ENJOY THE NEW YEAR’S IN THE FAIRYTALE MOSCOW 2017!
More vids to be added later! Please come back!
MY OUTRAGEOUS & FUN NEW YEAR STORIES
In my life, I happened to greet the New Year in some fun, memorable and outrageous ways, and in many fascinating places.
In the old days, back in Odessa and Moscow, we usually celebrated in a company of good friends. Being fashionably late was a sport of sorts; in our intellectual circles it was considered all in good fun. Just like in the perennially favorite Russian New Year’s film, The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath, I remember frantically trying to get to the party before the first stroke of midnight. We would catch a taxi – with difficulty – and urge the driver to go as fast as he can through the snowed-in city. Then we would storm into our friends’ apartment building clutching the requisite bottle of the Soviet Champagne (yep, it’s a famous brand) – our responsibility to bring to the party – as others nervously awaited our arrival with empty champagne flutes on hand. Then, at 11:59 sharp, as on TV the Spasskaya Tower Clock began chiming midnight, we would shout, ‘Quick, the glasses!’ and pour it just in time! New Year saved by the bell!
Later, there were many other New Years…
Once, in the 1980s, I greeted the New Year at the Tropicana Club in Havana, Cuba. Incidentally, the night club, full of hot and almost naked Cuban dancers, booze and buzz had absolutely no age restrictions. There were people of all ages, including some suspiciously young ones. But they were all divine dancers. I was invited by the club’s leading musician and manager, for whom I once translated in Russia. As a total non-drinker, I had to do some fancy footwork to enjoy the party, while avoiding drinking throughout the night.
The millennial New Year 2000 I happened to greet in Haifa, Israel. The terrorist acts were widely predicted and expected. When I was leaving to Israel before the holidays, my various Smith Barney clients begged me not to go, saying, ‘We don’t want to lose you!’ I assured them all that I would be safe. I was right, as usual. Even then, when I didn’t do it for a living, my predictions were spot on. 😉
How do you think we greeted New Year’s 2000 in Haifa? You won’t believe it, but my nice Jewish-Russian friends decided it would be fun to invite me to the Russian mega-bash at a fashionable Russian night club, called… Hollywood. The all-night entertainment program and I don’t know how-many-course holiday meal were loudly lavish, never-ending and borderline risque. We have to forgive them: they still ran on the Russian mentality of the crazy ’90s.
To be honest, I preferred to either catch up with my friends’ entire family at home or go exploring authentically Jewish and Muslim entertainment. Of course, I also did all the usual: Dead Sea, Arabic settlements, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Wailing Wall and the Holy Sepulchre.
The security on streets and airport was shocking. Let’s recall it was pre 9/11 and very bizarre to a Western eye. At the time it was very hard for an average person to understand how the entire country could constantly live under siege. The military with machine guns were everywhere you went in Jerusalem. Snipers were menacingly stationed on top of the Wailing Wall, full of Jewish worshippers in big black hats – they did expect an attack that night.
When I was leaving Israel, a young and unsmiling airport security girl in military uniform unapologetically and unemotionally squeezed every tube of the healing Dead Sea scrubs and rare creams a bought from the famous beauty company Ahava. The whole check-up procedure lasted 45 minutes. But that was nothing compared to what they’d done to a little boy’s shoe. The Arabic family in the next aisle was told to remove their little son’s shoe. The shoe was ripped apart and tossed out to the cries of the boy. Turned out it was bomb free.
Later in the decade I understood why they did what they did.
Once in the US, for New Year’s I was stuck in our country home in the Berkshires, with only my darling kitty Lilechka for company (you see her on my pic in the top right corner of this blog). It was at the time that I began writing THE EARTH SHIFTER, while also finishing up STEPFORD, USA. Incidentally, the story of Stepford, as journalist Jade Snow gets stuck in the Berkshires alone, while her husband works in New York and abroad, is partially inspired by my own.
That New Year’s we had a totally crazy amount of snow. In town, the mountains of snow pushed from the road to the sidewalks reached second and even third floors of buildings. The sidewalks looked like narrow tunnels, dug between tall white walls. The snowfall began on the 29th and by the 30th our 1/4 mile-long driveway was covered in snow to my waist. Due to the holiday I simply could not get anyone to plow it. Meanwhile, some roads and bridges from New York were closed and my hubby was unable to drive back home. When they cleared the roads and he finally arrived on the night of Jan. 1, I saw his car’s dim lights on the other side of the massive white sheet. Thank god he brought a shovel. We dug simultaneously from both sides, illuminated only by the bright moon’s light, until we met in the middle. That night I fully understood how the WWII Russians and Western allies felt when they met on Elba in 1945.
At other times I greeted the New Year on Red Square, and on Times Square. My Times Square New Year has its own funny story, which I’ll tell another time. Those times I spent New Year on Red Square, and generally in Moscow, are some of my most treasured.
New Year’s on Red Square:
These are some of my New Year’s stories. And what are yours? Please share them in comments!
Enjoy Novogodnyaya – New Year’s Song from the Russian girl band Blestyaschie (Shining).
Watch BELOVED RUSSIAN NEW YEAR COMEDIES OF ALL TIME!
Genya, the main hero of the aforementioned The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath says: ‘We have a tradition. Every year, on December 31, my friends and I gather at the banya.’ (Banya is a traditional Russian wet sauna or steam room.) That fateful phrase began the incredible adventure, which became the beloved Russian film of all time.
Just like Genya and his friends, we also have a family tradition. For New Year’s we watch the nostalgic Russian movies. Today, I want to share with you the treasures of the golden era of Soviet/Russian cinematography, which we enjoy every year.
Of course, the staple: The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath. You can find it on Amazon, or at certain Russian stores. The original made in the 1970s has the incredible magic and freshness that contemporary films are simply unable to reproduce. After all these years, it hasn’t lost its mega-popularity. There is a contemporary Irony of Fate part 2, which is also not at all bad.
Unfortunately, Irony of Fate is unavailable on YouTube. But the good news, I found several other all-time New Year favorites! And the best thing, they are posted on YouTube for FREE and they come with English subs! All highly recommended by me!
NEW RUSSIAN FILMS JUST ADDED!
Some have already celebrated the New Year. Still 12/31/16 on my side of the pond. As promised, FREE links to some of my fave Soviet/Russian New Year’s films. These are all 5 stars or above in my classification, in other words, world classics and eternal favorites (for more on my rating scale see Russian films page on FT – under RUSSIA tab above!)
NOTE! Most of these come with English subs. Because Mosfilm owns copyright, I cannot post them on FT. Please click on links below to watch on YouTube! These are unlisted, the links can only be obtained through watching a Russian version. This means Mosfilm frowns upon sharing. So, please be considerate – I am sharing only with my blog’s loyal readers, those who genuinely love Russia and are interested in her culture.
Carnival Night – Eng subs (Rus: Карнавальная ночь)
Blurb: The bureaucratic and nosy new director of the Cultural Club Ogurtsov annoyingly interferes with the preparations of the event of the year, the New Year Carnival, by demanding bizarre and non-sensical changes to the program. The party organizers are in despair, but their determination to make the concert and carnival a success help them outwit Ogurtsov.
Song ‘5 MINUTES’
Gentlemen of Fortune (Rus: Джентльмены удачи)
5+ STARS – WOULD GLADLY GIVE IT 10+! 1971. Sorry, no Eng subs. One of my fave movies of all time, a comedy with cute songs, great acting and immortal lines that became instant sayings. It is one of my New Year’s films as the action takes place mainly around New Year’s, part in Moscow and part in hot Central Asia.
This is the story of a kindly principal of a Moscow kindergarten, who also happens to be a WWII hero, and who is a spitting image of a dangerous criminal. Taking advantage of this incredible likeness, Soviet police decides to infiltrate him into the gang to find the missing archeological treasures. As the gang retraces their steps to try to find the treasures hidden by their ring leader, while experiencing various adventures along the way, our kindly kindergarten teacher subtly, and unbeknownst to him, manages to change the psyche of the gang members, who slowly develop consciousness.
The Prisoner of Caucasus, or the New Shurik’s Adventures – Eng subs (Rus: Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика) Note, Mosfilm translates it as ‘The Caucasian Prisoner.’
5+ STARS. Awesome, cool, full of action Soviet comedy, peppered with satire and great lines that became instant classics and a part of Russian culture.
Blurb: An eccentric comedy about a student named Shurik, who goes to the Caucasus for work and meets local chief Saakhov, a man full of guile. Having been duped by conniving Saakhov, Shurik, with the assistance of three famous crooks, abducts the beautiful Nina. Now it’s up to Shurik to figure out where Nina is held prisoner and how to save her.
(This is for those who asked me about Putin’s reference to this film! You may recall Putin mentioned a line from this film in his recent annual Q&A – the one about who destroyed the 17th century chapel: ‘And the 17th century chapel we have also destroyed?’ In the comment section I’d explained what that line meant. Note, in the movie they are actually referring to the 14th century chapel. Please see full explanation in comments for Putin holds annual Q&A marathon (FULL VIDEO – Eng))
Operation Y and Shurik’s Other Adventures – Eng subs (Rus: Операция «Ы» и другие приключения Шурика
5+ STARS. The first film about the kindly and soft-hearted Shurik, who, when necessary, can show spunk and courage. The second film in the Shurik trilogy is The Prisoner of Caucasus. In this first instalment, Shurik is still a student; the film consists of 3 separate hilarious and educational episodes, describing his funny and inadvertently heroic adventures.
Blurb: A series of 3 short film comedies, where the protagonist, a student named Shurik: 1. reforms a malicious idler at a construction site; 2. frantically prepares for an exam, failing to notice his exam preparation buddy is actually a pretty girl; 3. with the help of a granny catches three burglars attempting to rob a warehouse.
And it’s 2017!
ADDED JAN. 1. 2017. These two Russian films are great to watch any time of year!
Ivan Vasilievich Changes Professions – with english subtitles (Rus: Иван Васильевич меняет профессию). In the US it was released as ‘Ivan Vasilievich Back to the Future.’
5+ STARS – deserves all 10!
Hilarious and charming comedy, with elements of social satire, based on M. Bulgakov’s play “Ivan Vasilievich” about a time machine, which inadvertently transports the smart czar Ivan the Terrible into the twentieth century. At the same time, tsar Ivan’s look-alike, not very bright bureaucrat Bunsha, together with a shrewd thief George Miloslavsky, by mistake get transported into the ancient Russia. The result is a cool and funny comedy of errors you’ll remember.
This is also the third installment of Shurik’s adventures, where Shurik is a researcher and inventor of the time machine.
5+ STARS – deserves all the stars it can get! Cool, sweet, action packed, comical and satirical, with great songs and soundtrack, with lines that became instant hits and a part of the Russian culture. Funny and fun – don’t miss!
Blurb: An awkward and kind-hearted family man, Semyon Semyonovich, by mistake gets entangled in a major smuggling operation during his tour abroad. Being confused with the crook he travels with, he becomes the unwilling and unwitting courier, carrying precious jewels in his fake arm cast. Throughout the dangerous and elaborate cat a mouse game, which turns into a comedy of errors, Semyon Semyonovich manages to outsmart the international criminals.
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Kiev Tries to Ban Russian Language – Ukrainians Respond with Russian Song Katyusha
This is the follow-up to my previous posts:
- Ukraine Events Heating up and Accelerating
- Beautiful Russian-Soviet Song Flash Mobs Unite Russians and Ukrainians Against Kiev Junta Hatred
In Beautiful Russian-Soviet Song Flash Mobs, I showed you how people in Zaporozhie, Kharkov, Odessa and Moscow countered the vicious hatred emanating from Kiev junta, and how they said no to repressions against Russian language in Ukraine.
The new additional data coming in on the repressions against Russian language: Kiev Rada will be voting on the new law, which is supposed to limit Russian language programming on TV and radio to 5%. Already, most Russian films, all Russian-languge TV/radio stations and publications are banned in Ukraine, except the openly anti-Putin and anti-Russian ones.
There is another radical ukro-nazi proposal awaiting a vote in the Rada. It calls for the Russian speakers who always resided in Ukraine to be denied citizenship and the right to education. Ukraine is following in the footsteps of Latvia and Estonia, the euro-fascist members of the EU, where millions of Russian-speakers are denied citizenship and given a label of ‘non-citizens.’ Who needs Hitler…
This last one was proposed by an infamous deputy from Western Ukraine, Irina Farion, who during Soviet times used to be a member of the Communist Party, but when it became profitable, she promptly switched to the ukro-nazi side of the most vicious kind. She reminds me of the Lithuanian ‘president’ installed by the US, Dalia Gribauskayte, also once a Communist Party member and daughter of a KGB (NKVD) officer, who turned the moment US/EU promised her those proverbial 30 pieces of silver.
Another law being passed mandates that no signs in Russian language can appear in airports and train stations, despite the fact that 70% of Ukraine prefers to speak Russian. The mandated languages for public announcements and signs in Ukraine airports and train stations will be Ukrainian and English.
There are many more acts of repression towards Russian language and culture in Ukraine.
After all this, is it any wonder that normal people are leaving Ukraine by millions? The problem with that is: if everyone normal leaves, who will be left? Only imbeciles, sheeple and low-lives? This, unfortunately, is a very worrying ongoing trend in Ukraine. For more read: Mass Migration: What Happens if a Country Gains or Loses its Life Force? (US, EU, Russia, China, Ukraine).
Many leave, but some choose to stay and hold the fort, no matter how hard it is, until a meaningful change can occur.
To say NO to all the repressions, the new Flash mob “The Russian World” was born in Zaporozhye, Eastern Ukraine. The industrial city of Zaporozhye, located on the banks of the River Dnepr, next to Donbass and not far from Donetsk, was the seat of the Soviet 1930s industrialization. Read more about it in the articles linked at the bottom.
After the Russian-Soviet song flash mobs in Zaporozhye, Kharkov, Odessa and Moscow, Dnepropetrovsk has joined in. Dnepropetrovsk is a large city and an oblast located between Zaporozhye and Donetsk oblasts in Eastern Ukraine.
The Dnepropetrovsk Train Station flash mob sang the famous Russian song Katyusha. Here’s the first amateur video of the Katyusha flash mob:
Better quality full version of the Dnepropetrovsk Katyusha flash mob has posted on YT:
You can find some original versions of Katyusha in Legendary Soviet Music Hits.
And this is Katyusha by the Red Army Choir:
I also found this, with Eng subs:
READ:
- Sister post: Beautiful Russian-Soviet Song Flash Mobs Unite Russians and Ukrainians Against Kiev Junta Hatred
- Sister post: Ukraine Events Heating up and Accelerating
- Insane Asylum Overload: Ukraine Bans Communism – Goodbye Chinese Investments (there is more about Zaporozhye and Odessa here, incl. pics)
- Don’t miss! Raising Chi Against Hatred: The Suppressed Story of Russian Songs that Unite World Cultures
- More Russian/Soviet song links
Beautiful Russian-Soviet Song Flash Mobs Unite Russians and Ukrainians Against Kiev Junta Hatred
Since 2014 Kiev junta banned Russian language during school classes. Now every teacher is mandated to speak only Ukrainian in class, and so are students. In 2014 and 2015 the historic symbolism uniting Russia and Ukraine was banned. Many historic monuments were destroyed throughout Ukraine as well. Ukro-nazi thugs from the ‘right sector’ Svoboda and various nazi battalions brutally beat up and even killed those who tried to resist. Among things banned in Ukraine have been the Victory Banner (symbol of the WWII Victory), names of cities and streets. They succeeded in renaming one of the largest cities in Ukraine from Dnepropetrovsk to Dnepr. They tried to rename Odessa to Kotsyubeevsk (if you can believe it), but met with staunch resistance from Odessans, which made them back off.
The newest thing the Kiev junta is doing is banning Russian language during school breaks. Teachers caught speaking Russian will be fired.
In the atmosphere of the oppression, the people are finding ways to resist in a beautiful and inspiring way, by performing Russian-Soviet songs at train stations.
It began on November 13 in Zaporozhye, the large industrial city in Eastern Ukraine, located next to Donbass. The city of Zaporozhye is located in the very center of the ancestral Zaporozhskie Cossack territories. Zaporozhye means basically ‘beyond the white waters.’ It is located on the banks of the river Dnepr and it is the white waters of the river that gave it its name. The city was founded by the Russian tsars; in 1930s it became the center of the Soviet industrialization. It is the sight of the famous symbol of the Soviet industrialization DneproGes (Dnepr Hydroelectric Station). It is also the home to the metallurgical giant Zaporozhstal’ (Zaporozhye Metal Plant). Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is also built here. I again want to stress that everything that has been built in Zaporozhye was built by either the Russian Empire or the USSR. During its 25 years of ‘independence’ Ukraine built nothing of significance. On the contrary, much was ruined and stolen. More here: Insane Asylum Overload: Ukraine Bans Communism – Goodbye Chinese Investments.
The first flash mob at the Zaporozhye Train Station sang the song from the hit Soviet film, The Spring on River Street, 1956. The Spring on River Street is a romantic comedy about a worker from Zaporozhstal’ and a young teacher, fresh out of college. The song is called, My Native Street. This song is sort of unofficial anthem of Zaporozhye.
I have to say that after I heard this flash mob several days ago I can’t stop humming this song, which I’ve always loved.
Flash mob at Zaporozhye Train Station, November 2016. Russian-Soviet song: My Native Street:
And this is the original from 1956, with the clip from the film The Spring on River Street. Улица родная – Весна на Заречной улице. You can find this film and this song featured on my RUSSIAN FILMS page. Incidentally, the film was made by the Odessa Movie Studio.
**SORRY IF ANY OF THE VIDEOS AREN’T SHOWING! THIS MEANS YOUTUBE REMOVED THEM FOR SOME REASON. I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THAT! ENJOY WHAT YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN!
Kharkov, the 2nd largest city in Ukraine and the former capital, was next. At the Kharkov Train Station the flash mob performed another hit from the same era, The Old Maple, from film Devchata (Girls), a romantic comedy by Mosfilm (Moscow Film Studio).
This is the original with the clip from Devchata:
Odessa Train Station flash mob was the largest and it performed the hit Russian-Soviet song Smuglyanka (Darkie, the Moldavian Girl) from the famous 1973 film Only Old Men Go into Battle. I believe this masterpiece of a film was made at the Kiev Movie Studio. It was during Soviet times, of course, before Kiev sold out and destroyed everything previous generations stood for. It is action/drama about the multi-ethnic unit of the Soviet pilots during WWII, who loved to sing. This film is also featured on my RUSSIAN FILMS page.
The choice of a song was good for Odessa, a very international city, as well as it being a close neighbor to Moldova. It also was a gutsy choice, since Soviet symbolism, including Russian WWII symbols, is banned in Ukraine.
This is the original Smuglyanka by the Red Army Choir
In response, Russians organized their own flash mob in Moscow, at the Kiev Train Station. Yep, there is a train station in Moscow that is called ‘Kiev Train Station’ where trains from Kiev terminate. It was always there, and it doesn’t occur to anyone to rename that station, unlike the war on everything Russian in Ukraine. In reality the most popular train in Ukraine is Lvov-Kiev-Moscow, despite all the bans of the Kiev junta.
The song at the Kiev Train Station is called Rozpriagaite Hloptsi Koney (Boys, Unsaddle Your Horses). It is a Cossack song, sung in Ukrainian, or more precisely, southern Russian dialect. My mom loved that song.
In the end of the clip the lead of the group Yarilov Znoy (Ra’s Heat) says that they organized the flash mob to show that, despite all the hateful rhetoric, Russians and Ukrainians are one people, sharing one history.
Related articles:
- Ukraine Events Heating up and Accelerating
- Insane Asylum Overload: Ukraine Bans Communism – Goodbye Chinese Investments (there is more about Zaporozhye and Odessa here, incl. pics)
- Don’t miss! Raising Chi Against Hatred: The Suppressed Story of Russian Songs that Unite World Cultures
- More Russian/Soviet song links
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