October 30, 2024

The Music of War


The Music of War
Central Military District ensemble and Yulia Chicherina during a performance VKontakte, Central Military District ensemble

The Ensemble of the Central Military District is one of 13 song-and-dance groups under the Russian Ministry of Defense. Many were formed during World War II, initially performing at the front to boost soldiers' morale. Since then, the ensembles have performed at patriotic events in Russia and alongside Russian forces abroad, including in Afghanistan, Syria, and, most recently, Ukraine.

Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Central Military District ensemble has staged over 600 performances in the “special military operation zone.” According to Ensemble Head Lt. Col. Anton Sholokhov, song and dance ensemble members perform at the front line daily.

The ensemble aims to attract a younger audience by sharing festival stages with popular Russian  bands like IOWA, using LED screens, and recording performances with drones. The group’s repertoire includes songs that mock the Ukrainian military and celebrate Russian soldiers' actions in Ukraine.

The ensemble collaborates with other pro-Russian musicians, including Yulia Chicherina, who is sanctioned by all EU countries. Chicherina and the ensemble previously performed for Russian forces in Syria, staging a joint concert in 2016 at the Khmeimim airbase, which has been under Russian control since 2015. Now, Chicherina continues to perform alongside the ensemble for Russian soldiers. Lt. Col. Sholokhov calls her a “combat girlfriend” and “the creative banner” of the ensemble.

Rock musician Vadim Samoilov, a former member of the popular Russian group Agata Kristi, is also a frequent collaborator. Samoilov, who calls himself a “fan of the army,” has committed to a long-term partnership with the Central Military District ensemble.

Another regular partner is Akim Apachev, a former pro-Russian war correspondent from Mariupol, who now performs propagandistic "Z-music" and filmed a video at a destroyed Ukrainian site at the Azovstal plant.

According to a former employee of the Central Military District ensemble, performers believe they bring “light and kindness,” despite promoting militarism. They receive the same salary as other Russian soldiers in Ukraine, around R210,000 a month (just over $2,000). “With a regular military contract, there’s a risk you’ll be sent to the front lines and might not live to see your second paycheck. In the ensemble, the pay is the same, but you don’t have to kill anyone. You dance, sing, and get feedback from the audience,” the former employee said.

Ensemble members also profit from military-themed performances outside the war zone. According to the independent news outlet DOXA, violinist Anna Pasta of the ensemble offers “thematic corporate party” performances featuring military songs. Her five-song set costs R30,000 ($300), while soloists from the ensemble charge R25,000 ($250) per performance.

You Might Also Like

A Singer Diversifies
  • October 20, 2024

A Singer Diversifies

The notoriously pr-Kremlin rock star Shaman has filed trademarks for alcoholic beverages, household goods, and sex toys.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955