Most crash victims from Russian choir
Group toured beyond the Eastern Block during Cold War period
MOSCOW : The acclaimed Red Army Choir, which lost 64 members in a plane crash on Sunday, has been a potent symbol for projecting Moscow’s military and artistic prowess to millions across the globe.
Founded in 1928, the military Alexandrov Ensemble, more widely known as the Red Army Choir, has for decades showcased its repertoire of famed Russian folksongs and spiritual music on the global stage.
The booming baritones and melodies of the all-male choir -performing in their pristine army uniforms -- presented a human face to many beyond the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union’s fearsome Red Army that swept across Europe as part of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
During the Cold War period, when the USSR and the West were locked in a nuclear standoff, the group was one of the rare Soviet ensembles to tour beyond the Eastern bloc, playing a prominent role in the Kremlin’s attempts to portray itself to the rest of the world.
Along with ballerinas from the world-renowned Bolshoi theatre and the orchestra of Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky theatre, for many beyond the country the military ensemble - which has some 200 members -- came to be synonomous with Soviet culture.
The ensemble was directed for its first 18 years by Alexander Alexandrov, after whom the group is named.