Moscow–Peking

The song was written to commemorate the foundation of the People's Republic of China as well as to emphasise fraternal and amicable relations between the Soviet Union and the newly communist Chinese state.

[1] Due to the Sino-Soviet split during the 1960s, the song generally fell out of official favour by the end of the 1960s, and the lyric "the Russians and the Chinese are brothers forever" became a common ironic joke.

[3] By chance, composer Vano Muradeli read Vershinin's poem and decided to commit it to music, commemorating both the 70th birthday of Joseph Stalin as well as the foundation of the People's Republic of China.

[3] The original version of the song also directly referenced Stalin, although this lyric was replaced after the ascension of Nikita Khrushchev.

[4] After the Sino-Soviet split, the song was rarely heard, due to it being considered politically unacceptable.

A Chinese postage stamp, printed with red-tinted ink, depicting Stalin (left) and Mao (right) shaking hands with a map showing both the Soviet Union and China, as well as both countries' flags and iconic buildings in the background.
A 1950 Chinese postage stamp depicting Stalin and Mao shaking hands, representing friendly Sino-Soviet relations at the time the song was written.