The Red Star Red Army Chorus and Dance Ensemble was created in 1978 in Moscow, mostly to raise the cultural level and maintain the battle-readiness of the strategic rocket forces and other elements of the Red Army. A Russian proverb says 'A fairy tale is a lie, but a song tells the truth.' Fairy tales have become rare in present-day Russia, but folk tunes still form an integral part of daily life. Accompanied by the balalaika and the bayan (a large button-key accordion), these songs tell of love and loss, of sadness and solace, of brave deeds and everyday problems. Humor and dance can be found here, as well as melancholic longing and heroic pathos. Some favorites of the 18 songs: 'Regimental Polka,' 'Kalinka,' 'Volga Boat Song,' 'The Swallow,' 'The Brave Don Cossacks,' 'Wait For Your Soldier,' 'Ochi Chornye-Dark Eyes,' 'In The Sunny Meadow,' 'The Cliff,' and 'On The March.' All accompanied. 'Kalinka' beautifully captures the brash power and deep emotions of the Red Star Red Army Chorus.

The Red Army Choir was formed out of Moscow's Central Army Club in 1928. Under the name Red Army Song Ensemble, twelve soldier-performers - a vocal octet, a bayan player, 2 dancers, and a reciter - officially performed for the first time on October 12, 1928, at the Frunze Club under the direction of their conductor, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, a young music professor at the Moscow Conservatory. The ensemble grew to serve as the official army choir of the former Soviet Union's Red Army. The choir consists of a male choir, an orchestra, and a dance ensemble. The songs here range from Russian folk tunes to Church hymns, operatic arias popular music and patriotic songs.