The A.V. Alexandrov Russian army twice red-bannered academic song and dance ensemble (Russian: Дважды краснознаменный академический ансамбль песни и пляски Российской армии имени А. В. Александрова, Dvazhdy krasnoznamenny akademichesky ansambl' pesni i plyaski Rossiyskoy armii imeni A. V. Alexandrova), in short, the Alexandrov Ensemble (Russian: Ансамбль Александрова, Ansambl' Alexandrova) is a performing ensemble that serves as the official army choir of the Russian armed forces. It is known internationally as the Red Army Choir (and equivalents in other languages).

The ensemble consists of a male choir, an orchestra, and a dance ensemble. The songs they perform range from Russian folk tunes to church hymns, operatic arias and popular music; examples include The Volga Boatmen's Song, Katyusha, Kalinka  ^{sample (help·info)}, Kernina and Ave Maria. After the Soviet period, the ensemble has continued performing, entertaining audiences both inside and outside Russia.

Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov (1883–1946), was born into a peasant family, but he became the first artistic director of the Ensemble, choirmaster, conductor, teacher and the public figure who wrote the music to the National Anthem of the Soviet Union. He came from a musical background of hymns and folk songs, could play the viola and had perfect pitch, so he sang in the church choir and performed at festivals. He was heard singing at the village school by PA Zalivuhin, a soloist in the choir at Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg. Zalivuhin persuaded Sacha's parents to let the child go to St Petersburg to learn music. So in 1898 the young peasant boy became a pupil of the very grand Court Chapel (now the State Academic Chapel of St Petersburg Glinka).

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия; РККА or Rabočě-Krěst'janskaja Krasnaja Armija; RKKA) started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918–1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.

The "Red Army" refers to the traditional colour of the Communist movement. On 25 February 1946 (when Soviet national symbols replaced revolutionary symbols), the Red Army was renamed the Soviet Army (Советская Армия, Sovetskaya Armiya).

The Red Army is widely credited with being the decisive force in the Allied victory in the European Theatre of World War II, having engaged and defeated about 80% of the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht and much of the Waffen SS on the Eastern Front.

In September 1917 V. I. Lenin wrote "There is only one way to prevent the restoration of the police, and that is to create a people's militia and to fuse it with the army (the standing army to be replaced by the arming of the entire people)."

Helene Fischer (Russian: Елена Петровна Фишер (Jelena Petrowna Fischer); born August 5, 1984 in the Soviet Union) is a German singer and entertainer. Since her debut in 2005 she has won several awards, including four Echo awards and three "Krone der Volksmusik" awards. According to record certifications she sold at least 2,905,000 albums.

Helene Fischer was born in the Siberian town of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where she spent her early childhood. In 1988 her ethnic German family emigrated to Germany. In Germany, the family settled in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.

After graduating from school, Helene Fischer attended the Frankfurt Stage & Musical School for three years, where she studied singing and acting. During this time, Helene performed on stage at the State Theatre of Darmstadt, as well as on the stage of National Theatre in Frankfurt.

During her time at the Stage & Musical School, her mother secretly copied a demo CD with six songs of Helene and sent it to different recording studios to gauge the reaction of professionals.