# Famed Russian army choir and conductor Valery Kahliliv die in a plane crash. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599 "2016-12-25T15:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/1 "2016-12-25T15:10:30Z")
> **[Performers on crashed plane were headed to Syria | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/25/asia/russian-military-jet-disappears/)** > > A Russian military plane carrying members of the army’s official choir who were set to perform in Syria has crashed in the Black Sea near Sochi. > [@](#): > > Russian plane crash: Choir members on board, no sign of survivors > > … > > More than 60 members of the famed Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army’s official choir, including its conductor Valery Kahlilov. Even if Russia has antagonized the USA lately I really feel sad for their loss. RIP. I think I became aware of them from many WWII documentaries, and their rendition of Katyusha and their national Anthem still remain memorable. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzcs6B-3ZDI) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BYw_zamFGf0/hqdefault.jpg "Red Army Choir: The National Anthem of the USSR.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYw_zamFGf0) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/2 "2016-12-25T21:00:19Z")
One thing that I’m confused with is that some news outlets and sites are calling the choir the “Red Army Choir”, but IIRC they are not called that nowadays, but the Russian Army Choir. Wasn’t the former name the one they had when they were the Soviet Union? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/3 "2016-12-25T21:08:16Z")
This was the [Alexandrov Ensemble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandrov_Ensemble). > [@](#): > > The Alexandrov Ensemble and the MVD Ensemble are the only groups with the right to claim the title “Red Army Choir”. > … > > In 1949 the ensemble was officially titled the “Twice Red-bannered and Red-starred Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Soviet Army named after A. V. Alexandrov”, so it was no longer called the “Red Army Choir” in brief, but known as “Alexandrov Ensemble”. In 1978 the ensemble was renamed the Twice Red-bannered and Red-starred Academic Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Soviet Army named after A. V. Alexandrov. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ensemble received its present name in 1998. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/4 "2016-12-25T22:05:23Z")
Supposedly one musician, Roman Valutov didn’t get on the plane. His passport was expired? I don’t quite understand that. This was a military transport flying to a Russian base in Syria. Why would a passport be needed? This is Russia, maybe they operate differently then most militaries. Several who died are profiled here. [https://www.google.com/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4064628/amp/Russian-Tu-154-plane-carrying-100-people-flying-form-Sochi-Syria-disappears-radar-just-moments-off.html?client=ms-android-motorola](https://www.google.com/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4064628/amp/Russian-Tu-154-plane-carrying-100-people-flying-form-Sochi-Syria-disappears-radar-just-moments-off.html?client=ms-android-motorola) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/5 "2016-12-26T00:23:13Z")
Another one avoided that fate too, [Vadin Ananiev](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnyfGXDMsCQ), in this interview he reports that he got permission from the conductor to stay to take care of his new baby. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/6 "2016-12-26T01:12:29Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > One thing that I’m confused with is that some news outlets and sites are calling the choir the “Red Army Choir”, but IIRC they are not called that nowadays, but the Russian Army Choir. Wasn’t the former name the one they had when they were the Soviet Union? I think they still used that name in some places for tradition’s sake. I have only ever known them with that name, so I wouldn’t associate them with a different one. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famed-russian-army-choir-and-conductor-valery-kahliliv-die-in-a-plane-crash/775599/7 "2016-12-26T16:13:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Supposedly one musician, Roman Valutov didn’t get on the plane. His passport was expired? > > I don’t quite understand that. This was a military transport flying to a Russian base in Syria. Why would a passport be needed? This is Russia, maybe they operate differently then most militaries. Russians have what are called “Internal Passports” used for purposes of identification inside the country (think “_Ausweise_”): > **[Internal passport of Russia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_passport_of_Russia)** > > The Internal Russian passport\[b\] is a mandatory identity document for all Russian citizens residing in Russia who are aged 14 or over. The Internal Russian passport is an internal passport used for travel and identification purposes in Russia, which is distinct from the International Russian passport used by Russian citizens to travel in and out of Russian borders.\[c\] > After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet Union internal passport continued to be issued until 1997, when a n... One would think that military ID would suffice in this case, but maybe he was no longer on active duty. Who knows?