''Roads'' or ''The Roads'' (Russian: Дороги) is a Soviet WWII song by

Anatoly Novikov Anatoli Grigoriévitch Novikov (russian: Анато́лий Григо́рьевич Но́виков; – 24 September 1984) was a Soviet composer, a choral conductor and a political activist. Background Novikov was awarded two Stalin Prizes, ...

to lyrics by the poet

Lev Ivanovich Oshanin Lev Ivanovich Oshanin (russian: Лев Ива́нович Оша́нин; 30 May 1912 – 30 December 1996) was a poet, author of over 70 books of poetry, novels and poetry plays winner of the Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The S ...

. The song is one of the best-known works of the composer, having been popularised by both ensembles carrying the name of the Red Army Choir, namely the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble ( rus, Ансамбль Александрова, r=Ansambl' Aleksandrova; commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West) is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the e ...

and

MVD Ensemble The Rosgvardia Academic Song and Dance Ensemble, formerly known as the MVD Ensemble, is an official academic ensemble of the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardia) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia), Ministry of Internal Affairs of the ...

. Novikov and Oshanin were members of a military troupe at the front and the song was composed under artillery fire at

Zhizdra Zhizdra (russian: Жи́здра, lt, Žizdra) is a town and the administrative center of Zhizdrinsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: His ...

.Elena Polyudov
Soviet War Songs in the Context of Russian Culture
2016 p.149 "L. Oshanin recollected: The song 'Roads' was born when we were lying down on the battlefield under Zhizdra, overtaken by the bombing attack; and a flaxen-haired lieutenant who had fallen next to us, never got up. ... A soloist of the Ensemble Ivan Shmelev was the first singer to perform “Roads." It was then picked up by other soloists and ensembles. Then the song became popular and well-known even for school children. ." Among those who have recorded the song are Muslim Magomayev,

Ivan Rebroff Ivan Rebroff (31 July 193127 February 2008) was a German-born vocalist, allegedly of Russian ancestry, who rose to prominence for his distinct and extensive vocal range of four and a half octaves, ranging from the soprano to bass registers. ...

(1986),

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Хворосто́вский, ; 16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. Early life and education Hvorostovsky was born i ...

on the war songs album ''

Where Are You My Brothers ''Where are You, my Brothers?'' is a 2003 album of Russian-language songs from World War II recorded by baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky and conductor Constantine Orbelian for Delos Productions. The album was released in Russia as ''Songs of the Wa ...

'', and the Choir of

Sretensky Monastery Sretensky Monastery (russian: Сретенский монастырь) is an Orthodox monastery in Moscow, founded by Grand Prince Vasili I in 1397. It used to be located close to the present-day Red Square, but in the early 16th century it was ...

. The song begins "Ah roads.." («Эх, дороги…») and is not to be confused with another Red Army Choir favourite "На дороге" ("On the road") or "Гей, по дороге!" ("Hey, on the road!").

Lyrics

References

{{Authority control Songs about roads 1945 songs Russian military songs Soviet songs