While I didn’t get the humor video, I loved the Red Army Choir Kalinka palette cleanser! If the Red Army fights as well as it sings, we’re in BIG trouble.
The rousing Red rendition made me proud to have Russian heritage (though I’m a fierce American patriot now, so don’t cancel me). My Dad’s parents were from Grodno on the Polish border. My Mom’s grandparents also were from Russia, but I don’t know where.
Grandpa Joe (born 1890) fled the Tsars at age 19, became a barber in NYC who cut Nikola Tesla’s germ-free hair, moved to AZ in ~1950, and lived to 99. Grandpa was left-handed but forced to cut right-handed when learning his trade in the Old Country. I still have his barber’s shears and they are amazingly fine and sharp.
My dad had a gorgeous tenor voice, despite not being in the Red Army — just the US Army where he trained American cavalry soldiers at Ft. Riley, KS, during WWII. Wow, families!
Somehow those Finnish goofballs were able to perform with the Red Army Choir, and I have no idea how they managed to convince the humorless Great Soviet Bear to throw in with them.
Sad, the story of how that choir went down in a plane crash in 2016. But then I read that they were reassembled and touring again 5 weeks later. You won't find any better training or precision, I'm sure. The Leningrad Cowboys, however...? What a funny partnership that was!
Something about a deep, grim Soviet voice singing that song gives us a little glimpse into how weird the world really is.
Interestingly, I swear that same deep, grim Soviet voice is the one that they use to dub in the dialogue on foreign movies. Bambi. Mary Poppins. The Sound of Music. Animal House. National Lampoon Christmas. It’s kind of eerie.
I remember my Dad came home with the album of the Red Army Chorus. It was a staple in the house, along with Englebert and Marty Robbins, every Sunday morning, sometimes turned up to 11.
During our last overseas posting, we lived near a primary school that played their dreary national anthem every morning through a blown out old Soviet era speaker. Not quite Englebert at an 11 in the house, but joy sapping nonetheless.
Yeah, I remember hearing the anthem for the first time when they played in the hockey series here when I was about 14...ish. Pretty dismal sounding. The stuff on the album was a little more uplifting than that at least.
More than half a million dead Russians, and I expect that's not an exact number. It's extremely difficult to get out of Russia. Conscription is focused on the young.
I’ve heard from some of my friends in the ‘stans that they see a lot of military age Russians who voted against Putin’s war with their feet. They are struggling to make ends meet, but we’ll soon know how many have left when Putin pulls a Hitler and conscripts boys and old men.
Russian already faces a demographic collapse and there is a certain crowded nation on the southeast border of Russian that would probably welcome a little more living space they could easily take from a weakened Russian.
I also wonder how many Russians see through Putin’s stupidity and are about ready to revolt. He might do well to read up on Eastern European history from the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially Romanian history. Nicolae Ceaușescu thought he was the humbly magnificent champion of the universe until the day he suddenly wasn’t. And there is no glory in being executed by firing squad against a brick latrine wall after a 15 minute trial.
It's a big country, around 145 million people. Average age is around 40 years, so it's quite a young populous.
Conscription age was increased from 27 years to 30 years, they've not run out of young men. Ukraine has a population of only 38 million.
Russians are silenced. Who would know what they really think.
Only four years ago, 74 million Americans deliberately voted for Trump. Even more look like they'll do the same in 2024. We can't assume that, surrounded by lies, propaganda, and suppression, the majority of Russians don't support Putin. The brave leaders who defy Putin tend to end up dead. They have supporters, but they're no less dead.
Sadly, many Americans don't give a rat's about Ukraine, and one of those people looks set to be your next president.
The Finnish group did a kickass hilarious send-up of a great American song - and the back-up vocals were pretty sweet! Everyone looks happy.
The second -was nodding off until that whistler - wow
I will. Loved the voices and their rapt faces..
Kalinka is such a beautiful song. Look up the lyrics.
While I didn’t get the humor video, I loved the Red Army Choir Kalinka palette cleanser! If the Red Army fights as well as it sings, we’re in BIG trouble.
The rousing Red rendition made me proud to have Russian heritage (though I’m a fierce American patriot now, so don’t cancel me). My Dad’s parents were from Grodno on the Polish border. My Mom’s grandparents also were from Russia, but I don’t know where.
Grandpa Joe (born 1890) fled the Tsars at age 19, became a barber in NYC who cut Nikola Tesla’s germ-free hair, moved to AZ in ~1950, and lived to 99. Grandpa was left-handed but forced to cut right-handed when learning his trade in the Old Country. I still have his barber’s shears and they are amazingly fine and sharp.
My dad had a gorgeous tenor voice, despite not being in the Red Army — just the US Army where he trained American cavalry soldiers at Ft. Riley, KS, during WWII. Wow, families!
Somehow those Finnish goofballs were able to perform with the Red Army Choir, and I have no idea how they managed to convince the humorless Great Soviet Bear to throw in with them.
And I love stories about how we all got to this glorious, quarrelsome, beautiful, mess of a nation. We ARE the world!
Sad, the story of how that choir went down in a plane crash in 2016. But then I read that they were reassembled and touring again 5 weeks later. You won't find any better training or precision, I'm sure. The Leningrad Cowboys, however...? What a funny partnership that was!
Yes, I never figured out how those lunatics talked the choir into going along with it.
Sing, they said. It'll be fun, they said.
Holy crap!
Secular crap?
I'm stunned by the spectacle!
I must say, they did a bang up job with SHA! Well done!
Something about a deep, grim Soviet voice singing that song gives us a little glimpse into how weird the world really is.
Interestingly, I swear that same deep, grim Soviet voice is the one that they use to dub in the dialogue on foreign movies. Bambi. Mary Poppins. The Sound of Music. Animal House. National Lampoon Christmas. It’s kind of eerie.
I remember my Dad came home with the album of the Red Army Chorus. It was a staple in the house, along with Englebert and Marty Robbins, every Sunday morning, sometimes turned up to 11.
During our last overseas posting, we lived near a primary school that played their dreary national anthem every morning through a blown out old Soviet era speaker. Not quite Englebert at an 11 in the house, but joy sapping nonetheless.
Yeah, I remember hearing the anthem for the first time when they played in the hockey series here when I was about 14...ish. Pretty dismal sounding. The stuff on the album was a little more uplifting than that at least.
Those were great! I liked the balailikas - they were really ringing out.
Here’s looking at YOU! What was that?
Fun!
Ok. 👍
Many of the youngsters jumped Putin’s ship. It’s good to know that so many know when a war is unjust and refuse to support it.
More than half a million dead Russians, and I expect that's not an exact number. It's extremely difficult to get out of Russia. Conscription is focused on the young.
I’ve heard from some of my friends in the ‘stans that they see a lot of military age Russians who voted against Putin’s war with their feet. They are struggling to make ends meet, but we’ll soon know how many have left when Putin pulls a Hitler and conscripts boys and old men.
Russian already faces a demographic collapse and there is a certain crowded nation on the southeast border of Russian that would probably welcome a little more living space they could easily take from a weakened Russian.
I also wonder how many Russians see through Putin’s stupidity and are about ready to revolt. He might do well to read up on Eastern European history from the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially Romanian history. Nicolae Ceaușescu thought he was the humbly magnificent champion of the universe until the day he suddenly wasn’t. And there is no glory in being executed by firing squad against a brick latrine wall after a 15 minute trial.
It's a big country, around 145 million people. Average age is around 40 years, so it's quite a young populous.
Conscription age was increased from 27 years to 30 years, they've not run out of young men. Ukraine has a population of only 38 million.
Russians are silenced. Who would know what they really think.
Only four years ago, 74 million Americans deliberately voted for Trump. Even more look like they'll do the same in 2024. We can't assume that, surrounded by lies, propaganda, and suppression, the majority of Russians don't support Putin. The brave leaders who defy Putin tend to end up dead. They have supporters, but they're no less dead.
Sadly, many Americans don't give a rat's about Ukraine, and one of those people looks set to be your next president.