[1][2][3] It was written in a modern treatment by the composer Stepan Charnetsky in 1914, in honor and memory of the Sich Riflemen of the First World War.

[4] The red viburnum (kalyna in Ukrainian)—a deciduous shrub that grows four to five metres tall—is a national symbol of Ukraine.

Following the 2014 annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula, and then the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, singing "nationalist anthems" such as Chervona Kalyna in Crimea became punishable by fines and imprisonment.

[6][7][better source needed] Red Viburnum berries (kalyna) is a symbol that has been a part of the Ukrainian culture since ancient times.

According to Valentyna Kuzyk, in this variant, the energy of the primordial breath breaks out of stable forms and enters a new life space.

In response to the invasion, Khlyvnyuk cut the tour short to return to Ukraine in order to join the armed forces.

He recorded the video while wearing army fatigues, standing near Sophia Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, and uploaded it to his Instagram account on 27 February, where it became viral.

[11] At the end of the same month, Ukrainian ice dancers Oleksandra Nazarova and Maksym Nikitin performed to the song at the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships in protest of the invasion.

The song opens with a sample from another recording of Oi u luzi chervona kalyna, by the Veryovka Ukrainian Folk Choir.

[22][23] Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian head of the Crimean peninsula, warned that authorities would punish people harshly for singing such songs.

Do not bend low, oh red kalyna, you have a white flower, Do not worry, glorious Ukraine, you have a free people.

Ой у полі ярої пшенички золотистий лан, Розпочали стрільці українські з ворогами тан.

Як повіє буйнесенький вітер з широких степів, То прославить по всій Україні січових стрільців.

Jak povije bujneseńkyj viter z šyrokych stepiv, To proslavyť po vsij Ukraini sičovych striľciv.