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The Folk Song ‘Transvaal’ in Russian Male Poetry of the Great Patriotic War

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.37816/2073‑9567‑2026‑79‑144‑157
  • УДК / UDC: 821.161.1Р.0 + 398.8
  • Publication Type: Research Article
  • For Citation:

    Krayushkina, T.V. “The Folk Song ‘Transvaal’ in Russian Male Poetry of the Great Patriotic War.” Vestnik slavianskikh kul’tur, vol. 79, 2026, pp. 144–157. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.37816/2073‑9567‑2026‑79‑144‑157 
  • Author 1: Tatyana V. Krayushkina
  • Information about the Author 1:

    Tatyana V. Krayushkina — DSc in Philology, Professor of the FEB RAS, Chief Researcher, Head of the Center for the History of Culture and Intercultural Communications, the Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology, Pushkinskaya St., 89, 690001 Vladivo‑ stok, Russia.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000‑0001‑7452‑4593

    E‑mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • Abstract: Dedicated to the loving memory of my great grand-father junior sergeant Krayushkin Nikolay Erofeevitch, who volunteered to defend the Motherland (24.10.1897 (Altai territory, Talmensky district, v. Vypolzovo) — 13.07.1944 (Vilnius)) The study analyzes the features of the functioning of the Russian folk song "Transvaal" in Russian male poetry of the period of the Great Patriotic War or the‑ matically related to this time. Seven poems written in 1942–1967 served as research material. The authors include both names widely known to the Russian‑speaking reader (I.L. Frenkel, A.A. Surkov, V.I. Lebedev‑Kumach, M.V. Isakovsky), and little‑known or completely unknown (B. Almazov, A. Kalinin, L. Eliseev). The paper describes the plot of the poem by G. Galina “Bur and His Sons” (1899), highlighting similarities and differences in the plot of the folk song variants that arose on its basis. The authors come up with conclusions about the features of the evolution of the folklore work`s function‑ ing in author's poetry. These include the persistent quotation of a line from a folk song about Transvaal burning in flames, or an allusion to this line; rethinking the plot under the influence of contemporary events; active inclusion of quotations in military lyrics created during the Great Patriotic War, while poems written after the Victory are asso‑ ciated with the comprehension of this large‑scale phenomenon of the 20th century and summing up its results at the junction of military and philosophical lyrics. In general, the poems of the designated period asserted the significance of “Transvaal” in male poetry, preserved the demand for the song in the national consciousness, and allowed us to rethink its place in modern times.
  • Keywords: folklorism, folklorization, II Anglo‑Boer War, G. Galina “The Boer and His Sons”, folk song “Transvaal”, Russian song folklore, Russian poetry of the 20th century, poetry of the liberation movement.
  • Страницы / Pages: 144–157
  • Received: February 21, 2025
  • Approved after Reviewing: December 27, 2025
  • Publication Date: March 25, 2026

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