"When we were at war" (Russian: Когда мы были на войне; author's title "Song of the Hussar") is a poem by David Samoilov, included in his collection of poems, "Voices Beyond the Hills", in 1981–1985.
It was set to music by Viktor Stolyarov [ru], who read it in the Ogonyok magazine.
The song gained popularity under the guise of an old Cossack song.
[1][2] It was later expanded to sound more "cossack-like" by Viktor Stolyarov.
[3]