Свяще́нная война́ - Soviet Patriotic Song (Svyashchénnaya voyná/The Sacred War)

«Свяще́нная война́» (The Sacred War), also known as «Вставай, страна огромная!» (Arise, Great Country!) is one of the most famous Soviet songs of World War II. The music is by Alexander Alexandrov, founder of the Alexandrov Ensemble and the musical composer of the State Anthem of the Soviet Union. The lyrics are by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach. The circumstances of the composition and first performance of the song were hurried; the lyrics were published on 24 June 1941, and Alexandrov immediately wrote the music for them, writing the notes out on a blackboard for the singers to copy manually. The first performance was on 26 June at Belorussky Railway Station, where according to eyewitnesses it was sung five times in succession.