The Song of the Volga Boatmen, also called The Volga Burlak's Song, was inspired by Repin's famous painting, Burlaks on the Volga, depicting the suffering of the people in the depth of misery in Tsarist Russia.
http://www.robertamsterdam.com/burlaki0531.jpg

We, in the West, tend to think of the Russian people as somewhat coarse and militaristic, when, in fact, they have a rich culture, heritage, and traditions, that owes apologies to no one.

Who doesn't know the names of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, Pyotr Tchaikovsky?

Russian people of many professions have won world-wide fame - artists, composers, scientists, explorers, critics, architects, sculptors, craftsmen, ...

The Song of the Volga Boatmen, also called The Volga Burlak's Song, was inspired by Repin's famous painting, Burlaks on the Volga, depicting the suffering of the people in the depth of misery in Tsarist Russia.
http://www.robertamsterdam.com/burlaki0531.jpg

We, in the West, tend to think of the Russian people as somewhat coarse and militaristic, when, in fact, they have a rich culture, heritage, and traditions, that owes apologies to no one.

Who doesn't know the names of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, Pyotr Tchaikovsky?

Russian people of many professions have won world-wide fame - artists, composers, scientists, explorers, critics, architects, sculptors, craftsmen, inventors, ballet-dancers, etc.

Look at this magnificent image of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. It is the lengthened shadow of the heart and soul of what all Russians afectionately and lovingly call "Mother Russia."
http://exposedplanet.com/images/st-basils-cathedral-red-square-moscow.jpg