This song was written in 1975, which means that people got some distance from terrors of the War and Stalinism, which possibly opened some space for romanization and heroization. When it comes to music, I think my mind ignores any political subtext; if a song is powerful then I appreciate it for its power.

The peculiar thing about this song is that it was performed by an artist Lev Leshchenko in 1975, when he was 33; it was performed by other artists as well; but traditionally he performs it when the country celebrates the day (May 9); and this year he performs it again, when he is 82 years old. People ask him what's the reason of his good shape and he honestly answers that it's probably genetics.

I want to share here the 1975 performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KQeFkNQPOE



and the new one, 2024:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc5ghZ5Kavc



Here's some translation of the lyrics I found:

ENGLISH LYRICS:
The Day of Victory, like an ember in the fire,
Seemed so distant, but remained our hearts' desire.
Miles behind us, scorched and battered there we stood,
Bringing victory as closer as we could.

That's our Day of Victory
Ringing through the skies!
Proud and joyful,
We have bought it for a price!
There is gladness,
But with sadness in our eyes.
The Day of Victory!
The Day of Victory!
The Day of Victory!

Plants and factories kept on working day and night.
On the home front we've put up a valiant fight
Without respite toiling for the common good
Bringing victory as closer as we could!

That's our Day of Victory
Ringing through the skies!
Proud and joyful,
We have bought it for a price!
There is gladness,
But with sadness in our eyes.
The Day of Victory!
The Day of Victory!
The Day of Victory!

Come now, mother. I have made it back to you...
I feel like running barefoot in the morning dew.
Miles behind us, we've lost many souls for good
Bringing victory as closer as we could!

That's our Day of Victory
Ringing through the skies!
Proud and joyful,
We have bought it for a price!
There is gladness,
But with sadness in our eyes.
The Day of Victory!
The Day of Victory!
The Day of Victory!

Thanks so much. It's really amazing that s many people around the world don't know what a phenomenal culture exists in Russia.

The 2nd world war was so devastating to a people so rich in history and culture.


Thanks for sharing,


Russ

Thank you for taking time to write a comment, Russ!
To be honest, I'm not sure that even Russians can say much about our culture. There is a version that a lot of it was destroyed by communists; but there also was an aggressive industrialisation. Also, it is in fact rather close to European/American culture, despite political talks. To make this point I would just compare this music to music from India, China, Turkey, which has very specific sound. I think during the time of iron curtain, a lot of Soviet people romanticized life in USA to an unrealistic extent, and "banned" music from abroad influenced music lovers so deeply, that older people here have some "special America" in their minds, which doesn't really exist, and also for younger people who now live with the internet and millions of goods here it is kind of irrelevant.

Some younger people here take a big interest in Soviet culture, also they study an older music equipment, like vinil records; imagine, you are born among digital devices, any music just appears from nowhere, and then you find out that there is a physical (analog) world, and music which is so different from the mainstream.

Yet, contemporary music and young culture is also worth to study, it may sound simple and aggressive at first, but it reflects the outside world (environment) in which modern people live.

Man, I LOVE well thought out, considerate discourse. I wish things were so that we could meet and visit often.

You're a class act, man!

Best personal regards,


Russ

You are very kind, Russ.

I think technically it is not a problem for American citizens to visit Russia as tourists, as we don't have a
lot of migrants from US so far, the procedure shouldn't be difficult. It is just the political climate may add some nervousness to the whole deal, and some officials may do something stupid, which would be upsetting.

As a matter of fact, just recently Russia added some new law, which is kind of inviting everyone from NATO countries to Russia as long as they follow some "traditional values"; perhaps you would call it "anti-woke-values"; but it looks a bit like they just improvising. Russia is in demographic crisis, which results in a lot of people from Cental Asia come here for jobs, perhaps the state would be happy to balance it out.

My older brother was on a business trip to America just last year, he was looking there for some investments, looks like it went okay. And years ago, in 1996, my dad was invited to visit Los Alamos as an engineer, so he spent there two weeks; he went there with his coworkers. But apart from good relationship between our countries back then, poverty in Russia in 1996 was much more obvious than it is now.

The media says that by today more that a half American companies keep working in Russia after 2022.

Personally I'd love to visit America someday. My parents thought about moving there, but my mom said that she wasn't going to abandon her mother here, which now makes sense, as now my granny needs a lot of care. Now I'm almost 40; so I realize that I won't be comfortable leaving my parents here as well; also in Russia we are used to think that $1000 should cover rent, bills and all the products for a month, which is not really the case in US; so a lot of reasons to stay put. But we'll see...

Best regards to you, too!