"Farewell Slavianka" "Прощание Славянки" subtitle in Russian English
Channel: Genghis Khan Chinggis Khaan
Date: 2014-12-18

"Farewell Slavianka" "Прощание Славянки" subtitle in Russian/English
Behind the "Farewell Slavianka" 
The music was composed in 1912 by Vasily Agapkin who was inspired by the Bulgarian women who sending their loved ones to fight the First Balkan War against the Ottoman Turks. Vasily Agapkin was a trumpet-major in the marching band of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in Tambov, he was also invoved with the class of brass insruments in the Tambov Music School. 

It was Yakov Bogorad, a music publisher in Simferopol, who came up with the name "Farewell Slavianka" when he published the scores in 1912. The march was first performed by the marching band of the 7th Cavalry Regiment (where Vasily Agapkin was with) in the autumn of 1912. The first gramophone record was released by Ekstrafon Kiev in the summer of 1915 and it immediately gained wide popularity in Russia and adjoining countries. 

Since then different lyrics have been created for the different occasions, such as volunteer march song for the student battalion ("You have acces and nurtured ..."), Siberian People's Army march song, the march song of Kolchak White Army, ... Lyrics were also created in different languages such as in the Polish ("Rozszumiały się wierzby płaczące") during WWII, the Finnish ("Свободная Россия", "Рейо Франк"), the Jewish ("בין גבולות"), ... 

The most well-known version probably still is the one at the time for the First Balkan War against the Ottoman Turks:

"Arise, Russia Fatherland, defend your Faith, ... Russian Holiness is waiting for victory, Take action Orthodox men, ... Rise your battle flag for Faith, Love and Righteousness". 

This lyric was not just promoting the patriotism, it was also defending the faith of Orthodox Christianity against the Ottoman Islam. 

After the WWII the Red Army Choir had a version with the deep pride of the victory of the Great Patriotic War "..., They defended Moscow in '41, They marched in Berlin in '45, ..." and it has been always performed at the end of Red Square military parade in former Soviet and in Russia today. 

The lyric of this video is written by Vladimir Lazarev in 1984 and it has gained the popularity since the Soviet dissolved in 1991 because of the slower tempo and the added human fragility factor ("Farewell, fatherland, remember us, ... ... not all of us will come back. ..."). 

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Zara and Dmitri Pevtsov - "Slavic Woman's Farewell" (Farewell Slavianka) 
Music: Vasily Agapkin, Lyrics: Vladimir Lazarev 
Performed at Concerts at Poklonnaya Hill and "Songs of Spring and Victory" (both in 2009).

Зара и Дмитрий Певцов - "Прощание Славянки" (Текст: В. Лазарева)
Музыка: Васи́лий Ага́пкин, Слова: Владимир Лазарева
Концерт на Поклонной горе, Песни весны и Победы.

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Zarif Pashaevna Mogoyan ("Zara") is from a Kurdish Yezidi family that originally lived in northern Iraq, moved to Leninakan of Armenia, and then to Russia in late 1970's. She was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1983. While still under the age of 16, she has won awards in many competitions (in Moscow, Cario, Omsk, Sochi). At age of 21 she graduated from St. Petersburg Academy of theatre Arts.

She converted to Orthodox Christianity from Yezidism just before her first marriage in 2004, She married again in 2008 (to Sergei Ivanov) and now has two sons; Daniel (2010) and Maxim (2012).