Leonid Kharitonov (singer)
Leonid Mikhailovich Kharitonov was a Soviet and Russian bass-baritone singer. He was honored with People's Artist of the RSFSR and Honored Artist of RSFSR. In the West he was noted for his 1965 video of The Song of the Volga Boatmen.
Leonid Kharitonov, 1970s
L.M. Kharitonov, 1970s
Kharitonov singing Cliff at the Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow, 1965
Kharitonov singing Ej, Uhnem, 1965
The Song of the Volga Boatmen
The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" is a well-known traditional Russian song collected by Mily Balakirev and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was sung by burlaks, or barge-haulers, on the Volga River. Balakirev published it with only one verse. The other two verses were added at a later date. Ilya Repin's famous painting Barge Haulers on the Volga depicts such burlaks in Tsarist Russia toiling along the Volga.
Ilya Yefimovich Repin's painting Barge Haulers on the Volga
1941 recording by Glenn Miller, RCA Bluebird, B-11029-A.