Sting - Russians

Sting

"Russians"

Sting wrote his moving, contemplative song "Russians" in the early 1980's. It was included in his award-winning album "Dream of the Blue Turtles" and was released in 1985, at a time when Ronald Reagan was president, and he and his administration viewed Russia as "The Evil Empire." The Cold War between the two superpowers - Russia and the United States - was still intense, and both sides continued to build up their nuclear armaments. Sting's composition compares and contrasts two warring cultures, Russia and the United States, through his lyrics and musical expression. He subtly demonstrates that the two cultures have more in common than they are willing to believe, and if they focus on these shared goals and values, and renounce their stubborn warrior stances, they can achieve a far more peaceful coexistence.

Prior to the composition of this song, Sting had gotten into an angry debate with one of his band members about the nuclear arms race. Sting believed both Russia and the United States should deescalate their build-ups and destroy their nuclear holdings. The band member, Stewart Copeland, whose father was a former CIA employee who had been stationed in Beirut, argued that nuclear weapons were a necessary evil - and both sides needed them for a "checks and balances system."

Sting remained angry about the exchange and chose to further express his sentiments in a song. The result was "Russians." The melody of "Russians" is a direct adaptation of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev's "Romance Melody" from the Lieutenant Kije Suite. In the background, as the song begins, listeners hear a rapid, insistent ticking - as though time is running out, and a bomb could explode soon.

Sting begins his song, "In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of hysteria...." Twenty years later, this line remains apt, though today the public's fears have turned away from Russia to another "foreign" culture, Middle Easterners. But Sting continues, "conditioned to respond to all the threats/ In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets. Mr. Krushchev says 'we will bury you.' I don't subscribe to this point of view. It would be such an ignorant thing to do/ If the Russians loved their children, too."

Again, this very direct, poignant observation has impact today. Krushchev, once a terrifying, inscrutable force, and the figurative head of Russia's "enemy" culture, is gone. In his place is Osama bin Ladin, who also threatens to destroy the West. Sting demonstrates through his mention of Krushchev (and later Reagan) that the statements of cultural/political leaders do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of those within the cultures.

Next, Sting ponders whether he, as an individual can do anything to prevent annihilation: "How can I save my little boy/ From Oppenheimer's deadly toy?" (Note the play on words here: "Little Boy" was the name of one of the two atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan during World War II). He continues, "There is no monopoly of common sense on either side of the political fence. We share the same biology/ regardless of ideology. Believe me when I say to you/ I hope the Russians love their children too."

The implications of Sting's lyrics are simple: that beneath the cultural and political differences of the two superpowers, there remains a very powerful commonality: as human beings, as parents, Russians and Americans love their children. They have a deep urge to protect them. If the two cultures could momentarily cease their political sabre-rattlings and think with their hearts, about what is most important to them, they would find that they sought the same goals: security, protection of loved ones, peace.

In Sting's final stanzas, he again makes statements that have impact today: "There's no such thing as a winnable war/ It's a lie we don't believe anymore... Mr. Reagan says 'we will protect you'/ I don't subscribe to his point of view." Two decades later, as tens of thousands die in Iraq, the public considers the same questions: can there be a winnable war, when death and destruction are so pervasive? Can Mr. Bush protect his citizens when thousands died on his watch during the World Trade Center bombings?

What has changed for the two cultures since Sting wrote his song? There has been a de-escalation of nuclear arms on the parts of both Russia and America. Russia has lost its ranking as a superpower due to political turbulence. It is now moving quickly toward becoming a capitalist democracy. And it has abolished its death penalty. It has little involvement in the present Iraqi conflict.

The United States remains the world's pre-eminent superpower. It is still enmeshed in the Iraqi war, which Mr. Bush has included in his overreaching campaign, "The War on Terror." Only the United States' enemy is not a rival superpower, as before, but a subculture - Arab terrorists. The United States has arguably become more conservative and fundamentally religious. Its ideologies now clash with those of Muslim nations, which, in many cases,