Proshchaniye (Farewell)

Hetalia © by Hidekaz Himaruya


So this is probably one of the first Hetalia-Fanarts, I ever made.

Russia/Ivan has to go to war with Germany and Austria in 1914, so he and his two sisters bid farewell to each other. It should be historically accurate, since Belarus and Ukraine were parts of the Russian Empire in that time.

I had to think of an alternate clothing for Ukraine, because her farming suit would have been very anachronistic, so I decided for the white Dress^^  

I know, that the tsarist flag in the background is not fully accurate, as well as Russia's white uniform, which doesn't really have a typical russian cut, but I hope you can forgive me that.

There is a famous russian march, called "Proshchaniye Slavyanki" (Farewell of Slavianka), written by Wassily Agapkin at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, it became one of the most famous russian marches and marching songs worldwide.  

There are numerous, some times totally different, lyrics from different years. Some are about fighting for the Motherland, some about the glorious russian army and some about parting and remembering.