"Den' Pobedy" (russian: День Победы, en,

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

) ranks among the most popular in the large corpus of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n songs devoted to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The song refers to the

Victory Day (9 May) etc. , nickname = , observedby = Russia and some former states of Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact; Serbia, Israel , duration = 1 day , frequency = Annual , date = 9 May , scheduling = same day each year , celebrations ...

celebration and differs from most of these by its cheerful intonations of a

marching song A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's ...

and by the fact that it was composed some thirty years after the war. In the words of

Vladimir Shainsky Vladimir Yakovlevich Shainsky ( rus, Владимир Яковлевич Шаинский, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ʂɐˈinskʲɪj; 12 December 1925 – 25 December 2017) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was a recipient of the People's Artist ...

, a veteran composer, "the song seemed to have turned back the time. Although written three decades after the war, it now seems that it was this song that helped us to gain the victory".

History

In order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Second World War, the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

government announced a competition for the best song about the war. In March 1975, poet Vladimir Kharitonov, who had taken part in the war, approached his traditional co-author, the young composer

David Tukhmanov David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov PAR (russian: Дави́д Фёдорович Тухма́нов, was born on July 20, 1940, in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of Russia (2000), State Prize of Ru ...

with a proposal to write a new song for the occasion. This effort was to differ strikingly from their previous collaborations, which had been disco-influenced chartbusters. Several days before the deadline, Kharitonov brought his lyric to Tukhmanov and the latter composed a song just in time to be recorded track of an orchestra. His wife Tatyana Sashko (the singer and the

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

) sang Den Pobedy before the jury. However, the jury, composed primarily of elderly songwriters whose tastes had been formed during

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's era, was exceedingly displeased with the result. The lyrics appeared to them lightsome and frivolous, while the melody was alleged to abuse the "rhythms of

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

and

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

", two "bourgeois" dances which had been banned in the Soviet Union. Lev Leshchenko (27-10-2016) 01

Although the performance of the song was strongly discouraged,

Lev Leshchenko Lev Valerianovich Leshchenko (russian: link=no, Лев Валерьянович Лещенко; born 1 February 1942), is a Russian singer, who is best known for his rendition of "Den Pobedy" and the 1980 Summer Olympics closing ceremony theme ...

, one of the most popular Soviet singers, dared to premiere it during his concert in

Alma-Ata Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...

in late April. Then the song was performed in the ''

Little Blue Light The ''Little Blue Light'' (russian: Голубой огонёк, ''Goluboy ogonyok'') was a popular musical variety show aired on Soviet television since 1962 during various holidays. The name alludes to the light bluish glare of a black-and-wh ...

'' TV show on 9 May by another singer (Leonid Smetannikov)), but his interpretation was rather lackluster and failed to attract attention. Thereupon the song was not performed until 10 November when Leshchenko revived it for a grand concert (and live in Soviet television) in the

Kremlin Palace of Congresses The State Kremlin Palace (russian: Государственный Кремлёвский Дворец), formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (Кремлёвский Дворец съездов), is a ...

on the

Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...

Day. His performance astounded the censors but proved to be a runaway success with the audience, who clamored for an encore. Since then, the song has been invariably performed during every Victory Day celebrations in the Soviet Union and Russia, often concluding a program of festivities, with the last stanza drowned in sounds of fireworks over the

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

. According to ''

Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (russian: link=no, Комсомольская правда; lit. "Komsomol Truth") is a daily Russian tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper, founded on 13 March 1925. History and profile During the Soviet era, ...

'', the Soviet leader

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...

liked this song greatly, especially when performed by

Joseph Kobzon Iosif (Joseph) Davydovich Kobzon (russian: link=no, Ио́сиф Давы́дович Кобзо́н; 11 September 1937 – 30 August 2018) was a Russian singer, known for his crooner style. Early life Kobzon was born to Jewish parents in the ...

, and predicted to Kharitonov that "folks would sing this tune for many years after you and I are gone". Brezhnev's expectation did not fail to materialize, in part because, as the US-American researcher

David MacFadyen David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

explains, "this powerful song draws not upon the bravery of youthful soldiers but the private memories of ageing, greying veterans. Its poignant combination of joy at a stunning victory and sadness at great loss sounds just as relevant today, when the war itself is something about which many young Russians neither know nor care".David MacFadyen. ''Red Stars: Personality and the Soviet Popular Song, 1955–1991''. McGill-Queens Univ Press, 2001. . Page 180.

Lyrics

Russian lyrics

:День Победы, как он был от нас далёк, :Как в костре потухшем таял уголёк. :Были вёрсты, обгорелые, в пыли — :Этот день мы приближали как могли. :''Chorus'': ::Этот День Победы ::Порохом пропах, ::Это праздник ::С сединою на висках. ::Это радость ::Со слезами на глазах. :::День Победы! ::::День Победы! :::::День Победы! :Дни и ночи у мартеновских печей :Не смыкала наша Родина очей. :Дни и ночи битву трудную вели — :Этот день мы приближали как могли. : ''Chorus'' :Здравствуй, мама, возвратились мы не все... :Босиком бы пробежаться по росе! :Пол-Европы прошагали, пол-Земли — :Этот день мы приближали как могли. : ''Chorus'' x 2

Romanization

:Den' Pobedy, kak on byl ot nas dalyok, :Kak v kostre potukhshem tayal ugolyok. :Byli vyorsty, obgorelye, v pyli — :Etot den' my priblizhali kak mogli. : ''Chorus'': ::Etot Den' Pobedy ::Porokhom propakh, ::Eto prazdnik, ::S sedinoyu na viskakh. ::Eto radost' ::So slezami na glazakh. :::Den' Pobedy! ::::Den' Pobedy! :::::Den' Pobedy! :Dni i nochi u martenovskikh pechey, :Ne smykala nasha Rodina ochey. :Dni i nochi bitvu trudnuyu veli, — :Etot den' my priblizhali kak mogli. : ''Chorus'' :Zdravstvuy, mama, vozvratilis' my ne vse, :Bosikom by probezhat'sya po rose! :Pol-Yevropy proshagali, pol-Zemli — :Etot den' my priblizhali kak mogli. : ''Chorus'' x 2

Translation

:Victory Day, oh how far from us it was, :Like a dwindling ember in a faded fire. :There were miles ahead, they were dusty, they were burned. : We hastened this day as best we could. :''Chorus'': ::This Victory Day ::Is saturated with gunpowder, ::It's a celebration ::With temples already gray, ::It's joy ::With tears upon our eyes :::Victory Day! ::::Victory Day! :::::Victory Day! :Days and nights at hearth furnaces, :Our

Motherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

didn't sleep a wink. :Days and nights a hard battle we fought— :We hastened this day as best we could. :''Chorus'' :Hello, Mother, not all of us came back... :How I'd like to run barefoot through the dew! :Half of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, we have stridden half the Earth, :We hastened this day as best we could! :''Chorus'' x 2

Notes

Online references

Download the song
performed by Leshchenko.
Article in the Komsomolskaya Pravda

History of the song on Tukhmanov's website
* * * * {{authority control Russian songs Soviet songs 1975 songs 1975 in the Soviet Union Russian military marches