Uncle Vova, we are with you! (Russian: Дядя Вова, мы с тобой!) is a Russian jingoistic song written to be performed by young children authored (both lyrics and music) by self-taught musician Vyacheslav Antonov. In November 2017 the song gained the notoriety when a video was popularized in which Anna Kuvychko, then assistant to a State Duma deputy, performed this song with the schoolchildren in military-style uniforms of the cadet class of Volgograd school no. 44, joining a long list of songs praising Vladimir Putin.[1][2] It was performed on the background of the World War II memorial The Motherland Calls.[3]
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 Anna Kuvychko and schoolchildren singing |
The song included such lyrics as "While there should be peace on Earth, if the commander in chief calls us to the final battle, Uncle Vova, we are with you!" and "Sevastopol and Crimea are ours. We'll preserve them for our children. We will return Alaska to the harbor of the motherland." The song was met with praise by Russian nationalists, but also with criticism both in Russia and abroad for its politization of children[4][5]
References
edit- ^ Вячеслав Половинко , Татьяна Васильчук Конкурс песни и лести [Song and Flattery Contest], Novaya Gazeta
- ^ ‘Uncle Vova, we are with you!’ Russian songs about Vladimir Putin, Russia Beyond, December 14, 2017
- ^ Putin Supporters’ Election Pitch: Remember Stalingrad Video made at memorial to WWII victory is part of patriotic wave ahead of Russia’s March election
- ^ Polina Zmanovskaya and Robert Coalson, Tiny Troops? Shocked Mom Fired After Kids Welcome Putin Call To Join 'Final Battle', RFE/RL, June 10, 2018
- ^ Russian nursery children sing in praise of ‘Uncle Vlad’. The Times, June 10, 2022