Russians (song)

Russians (song)

"Russians" is a song by Sting, from his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, released in July 1985, and released as a single in November. In the lyrics, Sting cautions about the repercussions of the Cold War, including deviation from the mutually assured destruction doctrine ("there's no such thing as a winnable war/It's a lie we don't believe anymore"), and rejects the partisan politics of US President Reagan ("Mr. Reagan says he will protect you/I don't subscribe to this point of view") and Soviet Premier Khrushchev ("Mr. Krushchev said we will bury you/I don't subscribe to this point of view"). Hence he hopes that the "Russians love their children too," since he sees this as the only thing that would save the world from obliteration brought on by nuclear weapons ("Oppenheimer's deadly toy").

The famed Soviet news broadcaster Igor Kirillov says at the beginning approximately the following: "...The (British) Prime Minister described the talks with the head of the delegation, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, as a constructive, realistic, practical and friendly exchange of opinions...", referring probably to the meeting of Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher in 1984. The Soviet leader at the time was Konstantin Chernenko.

"Russians" uses a theme from the Lieutenant Kijé Suite by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.

The song was a hit in France, where it peaked at #2 for three weeks and remained on the top 50 for 19 weeks. It is currently the 636th best-selling single of all time in France.