"Zemlyanka" was the name for a German-Soviet War song written by Alexey Surkov (verses) and Konstantin Listov (music) in 1941 during the Battle of Moscow. The use of zemlyankas by soldiers is mentioned in the song.

Story

In November 1941, Alexey Surkov (who became a war correspondent of the Krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda newspaper at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War) came under fire from German infantry near the Kashino village along with 258th Rifle Regiment. Having broken through the offensive and crossed the river on thin ice under mortar fire, Surkov found that his overcoat was all cut by shrapnel. After arriving in Ulyashino village, everyone was placed in a zemlyanka. The Chief of Staff fell asleep right at the table, as he had not slept for four days; the others settled down near the stove, someone started playing the accordion. Surkov began to make sketches for the report, but the poem turned out. In February 1942, Konstantin Listov composed the melody to the poem. On March 25, 1942, the song was published in Komsomolskaya Pravda.

English Lyrics

Russian Lyrics

Popular culture

The entire poem was mentioned in the 2005 Canadian historical novel, Four Steps to Death, by John Wilson, in which Red Army soldiers sing it on the way from Moscow to Stalingrad (present-day Volgograd). The title of the novel is derived from a line of the poem, "And here there are four steps to death." The song is part of the repertoire of the Alexandrov Ensemble.

Well-known performers

Additional information

A response song exists — "The answer to the song "Zemlyanka"" — on behalf of the woman the fighter is addressing; as well as a song-dialogue between this fighter and this woman.