Nikolay Anisimov’s Ballade, By the very direct order, dedicated to our “Syrians.”
Николай Анисимов – По самому прямому назначенью (NEW)


We have a snow storm at home,
But here the weather is simply perfect.
We stay in an “all starts” hotel,
in apartments – “extra class”!
Facilities are outside.
We’ve had worse.
Around us it’s practically resort
With palm trees of wonderful beauty
And the picture perfect sea.
But we can only from air see
All of this beauty
In the process of our work.
We work so far overseas,
Among the sounds of Muslim prayers.
And many have not expected
To find us here.
Different times have come –
We came in and showed the “master class”!

CHORUS:
We do here what we have learned all those years in classrooms and drills.
Bourgeoisies were against it, but as it’d happened – we are in business now for all its intended purposes and the direct order.
Up in this sky there is no room for etiquette, no time for a rest or visit.
Days and nights we are nailing missiles into targets.
On the direct order!

Here, each of our flights is a battle mission
We’re boiling with tension.
Cabin is like home,
It is a pity it’s not for sleeping.
And you want to sleep,
Especially at night…
But we have not slept for months
And we can’t take a sick day.
Routine here is war
It’s a workday around the clock, day and night….
Everything here is at its max,
A designated target.
At the right time and in the right place
We will come from above,
And instantly turn into number “two hundred”
“Spirits” on the ground.
Reticile red cross-hair
Will place a red permanent cross on them.

CHORUS
And “potential friends”
will simply tell us “very good!”
They can’t fly that much,
They have a scheduled workweek.
It’s not easy to be them,
they live by schedule.
No strangers to death,
Over the years we have become tougher.
We won’t die twice,
but we will never get used to live “half-heartedly.”
And we will never get used
to be shot in the back.
Let it pass, by the grace of luck,
the chill of death.
Years after, the flight charts on
Faded pages
Will remind us this painfully bright
so near, and yet so far, East!