My native land is wide...

"My wide native land…", "It's easy at heart from a cheerful song…", "Morning paints with gentle light…" — these songs based on the verses of Vasily Lebedev-Kumach sounded in every home during the Soviet era, becoming symbols of the time, instilling optimism and faith in a bright future. The young poet, adding the pseudonym Kumach to his surname, started as a satirist, publishing in periodicals. But true fame came from the songs written in creative collaboration with composer Isaac Dunayevsky for Grigory Alexandrov's films "The Cheerful Guys", "Circus", "Volga-Volga" and Vladimir Vainshtein's "The Children of Captain Grant" and "Treasure Island". Many of Lebedev-Kumach's poems managed to outlive their time — created by a truly talented author, they still carry a life-affirming attitude and provoke a smile.