Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya (Russian: По диким степям Забайкалья) translated By the wild steppes of the Transbaikalia is a Russian folk song. The song is also known as Brodyaga (Russian: Бродяга) - The wanderer. It was composed by convicts in Siberia. At the beginning of the 20th century it was published and recorded. It has since become part of the repertoire of various Russian and foreign artists.
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History
The song Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya was composed by convicts in Siberia towards the end of the 19th century. According to Ivan Petrovich Belokonsky, the song was known in Siberia in the 1880s, with no indication of the author of the lyrics.
Ivan Abramovich Nazarov indicates Ivan Kuzmich Kondratyev as author of the lyrics, although the poem is not included in the latter's last published volume of poems: Under the noise of the Oak Groves. In 1906, Swedish composer Wilhelm Harteveld also collected the song during his trip to Siberia and published it in 1908
At the beginning of the 20th century, several recordings of the song were made in Russia:
The records indicate Ivan Kondratyev as author of the lyrics.
Lyrics
There are several versions, which differ slightly in words or expressions. Most musicians omit some verses. The following is the most common version. (The verses in italics are those most often omitted):
Recent performances
The song remains in the repertoire of various Russian artists. The best known performances include those by:
Performance abroad
The first recording outside the USSR was by Electrecord in Bucharest, Romania in 1945 and released as "Brodyaga". It was performed by Pyotr Leshchenko, a Russian singer who had emigrated to Romania.
The song has also been performed by foreign artists, including:
Films
The song was featured in the Russian movie Ballad of Siberia (Russian: Сказание о земле Сибирской), performed by actor Vladimir Druzhnikov, being a secondary theme song.
Spinoffs
A parody of the song called "On the wild steppes of Arizona" (Russian: По диким степям Аризоны), with lyrics by Viktor Baranov performed by Artur Gladyshev. The song was released in 1997 in the album "Red America" (Russian: Квасная Америка) .