"Katyusha Went Out onto the Riverbank": how a song about a simple Russian girl became a symbol of Victory

During the Great Patriotic War, the song "Katyusha" was sung in soldiers’ dugouts. Soldiers bravely went into attack to it, and in peacetime, spring was welcomed with it. It is difficult to imagine modern events dedicated to the Great Victory without it. "Katyusha" is a song that was born almost by chance in Russia, but became one of the most popular in the world. Many sincerely believe that it became the embodiment of folk creativity during the war years. In reality, however, "Katyusha" has specific "parents", and it is much older than we are used to thinking.

The music for "Katyusha" was written by Matvey Blanter, the author of dozens of melodies that spread across the whole country. He was inspired to create the song by poet Mikhail Isakovsky, who wrote lines about a girl who went out onto a high riverbank and sang a song about her beloved "on the distant borderland". Initially, there was nothing "military" in the plot, but serious tension was already being felt in the world. The Civil War was under way in Spain, and Soviet troops were repelling attacks from Japan. That is why the song about a girl named Katyusha sending greetings to a fighter guarding the borders of the Motherland became almost universal: beyond time and state borders.

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

The song was first performed in 1938 and immediately won listeners’ hearts. The performers of the song were called back for an encore at almost every concert, and records with the song sold out almost as soon as they reached shop counters. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, "Katyusha" "went" to the front. It was sung during rest stops, before battle and in breaks between shelling. Soldiers filled it with personal meanings and waited for news from their loved ones. "Katyusha" was also the affectionate name given to the Guards mortars — BM-13 launchers, whose shells terrified the enemy.

After the war, the song was not forgotten and still sounds today at festive concerts, on radio and in films. It has been translated into dozens of languages. In Italy, it became the partisan "Caterina", and in China, the name was given to a television channel launched in 2017.

The National Centre RUSSIA also preserves the memory of "Katyusha", where performances of this famous song have more than once become part of cultural and educational programmes. In many ways, it was the atmosphere of the song that inspired the creators of the All-Russian Festival of Original Songs for Girls "Katyusha", whose gala concert was also held at the National Centre RUSSIA. Before the premiere of the performance "Soldiers’ Dreams", the combined children’s brass orchestra of the Valery Khalilov Brass Society performed in the foyer of the concert hall: more than 130 young musicians played marches, waltzes and songs from the war years, including the legendary "Katyusha". There is something bright in this song, despite the years, trials and distances. It is not only about war, but also about loyalty, home and the warmth of the family hearth. It is about the fact that even in the harshest times, a person remains human.