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Polyushko Pole (Russian spelling: Полюшко Поле) is a Russian song. It is claimed that the song was originally written during the Russian Civil War and was sung by the Red Army.
For the Soviet variant of the song, the music was by Lev Knipper, with lyrics by Viktor Gusev. Knipper's song was part of the symphony with chorus (lyrics by Gusev) "A Poem about a Komsomol Soldier" (Поэма о бойце-комсомольце) composed in 1934. It was covered many times by many artists in the Soviet Union, including a well-known rock version made from the "Singing Guitars" (Russian: Поющие гитáры), released c. 1967
Several Western arrangements of the tune are known under the title The Cossack Patrol, particularly a version by Ivan Rebroff, and some under other titles including Meadowland, Cavalry of the Steppes and Gone with the Wind. Tanz Brüderchen by Hyperactive, an authorised rave remix of Rebroff's performance, is well-known in some online communities for its inclusion in the Flash cartoon at rathergood.com (See links below).
The tune is still popular, including ringtones and a dance track by the British electro duo, SilverSpirit. It was used to very dramatic effect in the 1967 film The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. Michael Palin notably performed the song with the choir of the Russian Pacific Fleet in the television series Full Circle with Michael Palin . The song can be heard in the background of the movie Cast Away and in an episode in Airwolf ("Proof Through The Night"); and is the opening title of Aki Kaurismäki's film Leningrad Cowboys Go America. The song is also covered instrumentally on Hammond organ by Steven Stills on Jefferson Airplane's 1969 album Volunteers as an interlude between A Song For All Seasons and the title track.
David Markish has a novel Polyushko-Polye about Nestor Makhno; and Boris Mozhayev, a Soviet writer of "rustic style" wrote his Polyushko-Polye about kolkhoz life. There also was a 1956 movie with this name.
The song is also the basis for a Glenn Miller and Jerry Gray song called Russian Patrol or The Red Cavalry March.
Ritchie Blackmore's Gone with the Wind (1999) is presumably the most recent adaptation of Polyushko-Pole.
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