"Katyusha" (russian: Катюша – a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

form of , ''Yekaterina'' —

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and Catherina, other variations are feminine Given name, names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria ...

), also transliterated as "Katjuša", "Katioucha", or "Katiusza", is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

folk-based song and military march composed by

Matvey Blanter Matvey Isaakovich Blanter (russian: Матве́й Исаа́кович Бла́нтер) (27 September 1990) was a Soviet composer, and one of the most prominent composers of popular songs and film music in the Soviet Union. Among many other work ...

in 1938, with lyrics written by the Soviet poet Mikhail Isakovsky. It gained fame during

World War II 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 ...

as a patriotic song, inspiring the population to serve and defend their land in the war effort. The song was still popular in Russia in 1995. The song is the source of the nickname of the BM-8, BM-13, and BM-31 " Katyusha"

rocket launchers A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...

that were used by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

Song

The song is about a Russian woman called Katyusha. Standing on a steep riverbank, she sings a song to her beloved, a soldier serving far away. The theme of the song is that the soldier will protect the Motherland and its people while his grateful girl will keep and protect their love. Its lyrics became relevant during 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 ...

, when many Soviet men left their wives and girlfriends to serve in World War II, known in Russia as

The Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

Performance history

The song's popularity began to increase with the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

launched by Germany against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The song was sung by female students from a Soviet industrial school in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, bidding farewell to soldiers going to the battle front against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Its first official performance was by Valentina Batishcheva in the Column Hall of

House of the Unions The House of the Unions (russian: Дом Союзов) (also called ''Palace of the Unions'') is a historic building in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets. ...

, at the State Jazz Orchestra concert in autumn 1938. It has since been performed many times by other famous singers, including

Lidia Ruslanova , birth_date = , birth_place = Chernavka, Serdobsky Uyezd, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = Moscow, USSR , genre = russian folk music , instrument = singing , background = solo_singer Lidia Andreyevna Ru ...

Tamara Sinyavskaya Tamara Ilyinichna Sinyavskaya (russian: Тамара Ильинична Синявская; born 6 July 1943, in Moscow) is a Russian mezzo-soprano from the Bolshoi Theatre. She was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1982. I ...

Georgi Vinogradov Georgy Pavlovich Vinogradov (Russian language, Russian: Гео́ргий Па́влович Виногра́дов) (12 November 1980) was a Soviet and Russian tenor: a popular World War II singer on Radio Moscow, recording artist, and soloist w ...

Eduard Khil Eduard Anatolyevich Khil ( rus, Эдуа́рд Анато́льевич Хиль, , ɨdʊˈart ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈxʲilʲ; 4 September 1934 – 4 June 2012), often anglicized as Edward Hill, was a Soviet-Russian baritone singer. Khil be ...

Anna German Anna Wiktoria German-Tucholska (14 February 1936 – 26 August 1982) was a Polish singer, immensely popular in Poland and in the Soviet Union in the 1960s–1970s. She released over a dozen music albums with songs in Polish, as well as severa ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 th ...

, countertenor Vitas, Beloe Zlato, a duet by

Marina Devyatova Marina Vladimirovna Devyatova (russian: link=no, Мари́на Влади́мировна Девя́това, born 13 December 1983) is a Russian singer and interpreter of Russian traditional music. She was a finalist of the third edition of ...

and Katya Ryabova, a duet by Maria Voronova and Varvara (real name Elena Vladimirovna Susova),

Elena Vaenga Elena Vaenga (russian: link=no, Елена Ваенга, real name Yelena Vladimirovna Khrulyova; born 27 January 1977 in Severomorsk, Russia) is a Russian singer, songwriter and actress. Her style of singing is author song, folk rock, Russian ch ...

, and more. "Katyusha" is part of the repertoire of 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 en ...

In other languages

In 1943, the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, until then one of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

, joined the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. During the next two years, Italian partisans fought against German forces in Italy and Italian Fascists. wrote Italian lyrics for "Katyusha". His adaptation, ''

Fischia il vento "Fischia il vento" is an Italian popular song whose text was written in late 1943, at the inception of the Resistenza. Along with '' Bella ciao'' it is one of the most famous songs celebrating the Italian resistance. History The song was broadc ...

'' (The Wind Blows), became one of the most famous partisan anthems, along with '' Bella ciao'' and ''La Brigata Garibaldi''. During the last battles on the Eastern Front, the

Blue Division The Blue Division ( es, División Azul, german: Blaue Division) was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain within the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer ...

used the melody of "Katyusha" for an adaptation called ''Primavera'' (Spring), a chant extolling the value of Spanish fascist fighters. During the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

(1946–1949), Greek partisans who fought against the German invasion in 1941 wrote their version of "Katyusha" named ''Ο ύμνος του ΕΑΜ'' (The Hymn of EAM). The text to the melody was written by

Vassilis Rotas Vassilis Rotas (1889–1977) was a Greek politician, author and translator of Shakespeare's dramas from English into Greek. Biography He was born in Chiliomodi on the Peloponnese in 1889 and studied literature at the University of Athens and ...

, recorded much later by

Thanos Mikroutsikos Athanasios "Thanos" Mikroutsikos ( el, Αθανάσιος (Θάνος) Μικρούτσικος; 13 April 1947 – 28 December 2019) was a Greek composer and politician. He is considered one of the most important composers of the recent Greek mu ...

and sung by

Maria Dimitriadi Maria Dimitriadi ( el, Μαρία Δημητριάδη) (11 April 1950 – 6 January 2009), was a Greek singer. She was one of the most renowned performers of the songs of Mikis Theodorakis and Thanos Mikroutsikos. Dimitiradi primarily connected w ...

. It has also been performed by the Syrian Communist Party in Arabic. The song was translated into Hebrew and performed by 1945, and has been popular ever since in Israel. Katyusha is also a popular song sung in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

due to influence from the

in the second half of the 20th century and is still widely popular. The popularity of these songs even reached a point in China that at the time young people would deem it a great shame if they couldn't sing them. During the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade, the Chinese

honor guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

contingent led by Li Bentao surprised hundreds of locals when they sang Katyusha during their march back to their living quarters during a nighttime rehearsal. That same parade saw the song being performed by the

Massed Bands of the Moscow Garrison Russian military bands fall under the jurisdiction of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, which is the official music service for the Russian Armed Forces, and led by the Senior Director of Music, a billet of an officer wi ...

during the march past of foreign contingents (specifically that of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

). In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, the Joko Widodo

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

song ''Goyang Jempol Jokowi Gaspol'' uses its melody. It is a popular song in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(particularly among schoolchildren) where it is known as "" ("Be Ready When Spring Calls"), the lyrics by Tryggvi Þorsteinsson encourage hard work in the hayfields in spring. A French-language version, titled " Casatchok", was released by Israeli singer Rika Zaraï in 1969. In

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

the best known version (in Finnish) of the song is called "Sörkan sällit", which is also quite popular a student soirée song. Katyusha received its first Portuguese version in 2022, composed by Lu Cavalheiro.

In popular culture

Katyusha has appeared in numerous works, most often in tandem with Russian or Soviet topics, including the 2012 anime ''

Girls und Panzer , abbreviated as ''GuP'' or ''Garupan'' , is a Japanese anime franchise created by Actas which depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu ...

'' (though the song is excluded in the English dub and international editions, being replaced with an orchestral cover of korobeniki in the english dub.), a level featuring the USSR in the 1989

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

video game '' Super Dodgeball'', and in the 2013 album ''The Circus At The End Of The World'' by the band

Abney Park Abney Park is in Stoke Newington, London, England. It is a park dating from just before 1700, named after Lady Abney, the wife of Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of London in 1700 and one of the first directors of the Bank of England and associat ...

. A variant of the song appears in the 2018 film

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

References

External links

Valeria Kurnushkina & Red Army Choir performing Katyusha song
*

at the

Marxists Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Eng ...