"Katyusha", also transliterated as "Katûša", "Katusha", "Katjuscha", "Katiusha" or "Katjusha", is a Soviet folk-based song and military march. It was composed by Matvey Blanter in 1938, and gained fame during World War II as a patriotic song, inspiring the population to serve and defend their land in the war effort. In Russia, the song was still popular as of 1995. The song is the source of the nickname of the BM-8, BM-13, and BM-31 "Katyusha" rocket launchers that were used by the Red Army in World War II.
Song
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. Its lyrics became relevant during the Second World War, when many Soviet men left their wives and girlfriends to serve in World War II, known in Russia as The Great Patriotic War. Many of the men never returned home, with an estimated 8,668,400 Soviet military deaths. The lyrics are written by Mikhail Isakovsky.
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. wrote Italian lyrics for "Katyusha". His adaptation, Fischia il vento, 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, an anti-communist chant extolling the value of Spanish fighters. During the Greek Civil War, Greek partisans who fought against the German invasion in 1941 wrote their version of "Katyusha" named Ο ύμνος του ΕΑΜ. 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 the People's Republic of China due to influence from the Soviet Union 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 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". It is a popular song in Iceland where it is known as "Vertu til er vorið kallar á þig", the lyrics by Tryggvi Þorsteinsson encourage hard work in the hayfields in spring.
