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On parade: WWii veterans in their 90s; Belarus swaggers, honor guards sing popular song “Katyusha”
91-year-old veteran and former sailor of the Baltic Fleet at the Victory Parade in 2015, celebrating 70 years after WWII
Victory Day: Belarus swaggers on parade, 2020
WWII veteran poses after the Victory Day parade in Red Square, 2014
The Guard of Honor of the Chinese PLA take part in the military parade in Red Square, 2020, marking 75th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War
A 97-year-old World War II veteran attends a memorial ceremony marking the 74 anniversary of the end of World War II at the Antakalnis memorial in Lithuania, 2020
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Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. Its capital and most populous city is Minsk. Over 40% of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested. Its major economic sectors are service industries and manufacturing.
Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislač and the Nyamiha Rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region and Minsk District. The population in January 2018 was 1,982,444, (not including suburbs) making Minsk the 11th most populous city in Europe. The earliest historical references to Minsk date to the 11th century (1067).
“Katyusha” is a Soviet folk-based song and military march. It was composed by Matvey Blanter in 1938, and gained fame during World War II. The song is about a Russian woman called Katyusha. Standing on a steep riverbank, she sends her song to her lover, 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 remain true to him. Katyusha’s lyrics became relevant during the Second World War, when many Soviet men left their wives and girlfriends to serve in World War II. Many of the men never returned home, with an estimated 8,668,400 Soviet military deaths. The lyrics are written by Mikhail Isakovsky.
The popularity of The song “Katyusha”
– In other languages
In 1943, the Kingdom of Italy, until then one of the Axis powers, joined the Allies. During the next two years, Italian partisans fought against German forces in Italy and Italian Fascists. Felice Cascione wrote Italian lyrics for “Katyusha”. His adaptation, Fischia il vento (The Wind Blows), became one of the most famous partisan anthems, along with Bella ciao and La Brigata Garibaldi. In Indonesia, Joko Widodo campaign song named Goyang Jempol Jokowi Gaspol uses its melody.
During the last battles on the Eastern Front, the Blue Division used the melody of “Katyusha” for an adaptation called Primavera (Spring), an anti-communist chant extolling the value of Spanish fighters.
During the Greek Civil War (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). This adaptation was recorded much later by Thanos Mikroutsikos and sung by Maria Dimitriadi.
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 China and is still widely popular. During the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade, the Chinese honor guard contingent led by Li Bentao surprised hundreds of locals when they sung Katyusha during their march back to their living quarters during a nighttime rehearsal.
This song was also performed in English by Abney Park on their 2013 album “The Circus at the End of the World”.
