Jewish Songs for All

Where it all began

The aim is simple.

It began in 2017 with a small project: take Jewish songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, and other languages and bring them into Russian — and later, into English — so that audiences who could not access the originals could hear them, sing them, and pass them on.

The Russian adaptations are primarily by Olga Anikina, the St. Petersburg poet whose Russian-language Jewish songbook for this project now spans more than 40 works. The English adaptations are sometimes translated directly from the source language, more often from Anikina's Russian originals, by Walter J. Kin (RIGLI).

The methodology is not translation. It is authorial adaptation — Russian and English poems that honor the source while standing as literature in their own right. Source attribution is preserved for every song: composers, lyricists, historical context, and the chain of voices that carried each song forward.

The Architects

Three voices, one collection.

A poet, a singer, and a producer working across borders to bring Jewish musical heritage to listeners everywhere.

Photo to be added

The Poet

Olga Anikina

Russian poet, novelist, and translator based in St. Petersburg. Author of more than 40 Russian-language Jewish song adaptations for this project — including the 2017 reclamation cycle of Holocaust songs from the Vilna Ghetto and beyond.

The Voice

Eletchka

The lead vocalist whose interpretations have carried these songs to millions of listeners. Featured on Hava Nagila, Hatikvah, Tumbalalaika, Chiribim Chiribom, A Handful of Happiness, By the Stove, and across the catalog. Listeners write from every corner of the Russian-speaking world to thank her by name.

The Producer

Walter J. Kin

Producer, arranger, and English-language adapter. Founded the Jewish Songs for All project in 2016 with a simple goal: keep these songs alive and share them with new audiences. Records and releases under the artist name RIGLI / РИГЛИ.

What Listeners Say

From every corner.

Authentic comments from listeners across nationalities, religions, and generations — Russian, Ukrainian, Tatar, Bashkir, Latvian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, and many others — discovering these songs through Anikina's adaptations.

"Olga, you are not just a poet, you are a translator of souls. How can you feel so subtly what would seem not to belong to you by blood, but so clearly belongs to you in spirit? Thank you for this miracle."

Jewish Songs · RussianIrina K.

"I am Tatar, Muslim, but this anthem in your Russian performance evokes in me only a feeling of deep respect and peace. Music knows no borders when it is so sincere."

Hatikvah · RussianMarat Izmailov

"Thank you so much for the song, I am currently on the Kharkiv front..."

Hatikvah · RussianEd Fesenko

"We danced to this music all our lives, and now we cry to the words. Thank you for revealing the meaning to us. This is very important for those who don't know Hebrew but feel this music in their skin."

Hava Nagila · RussianLyudmila N.

"During the war, my grandfather saved a young Jewish woman. He brought her home at night, even though he had two small daughters at home. Eva lived with my grandmother, helped her. She often hummed this song in her native language. A long time has passed, and now I know its translation. Thank you, YouTube!"

Hava Nagila · RussianAleksei N.

"I am not Jewish, but this music turns my entire soul inside out!"

Hava Nagila · RussianYelena T.

"It's as if I have genetic memory — my soul spins and flies to this song, even without translation. I am Russian, but who knows!"

Hava Nagila · RussianAnzhelika L.

"In all the years of this popular song's history, this is the first time I hear such a good translation and such a professional performance. Thank you so much for your art!"

Hava Nagila · RussianLeonid Shkolny

"This song really got to me. Maybe this is my people too?"

Hatikvah · RussianArina Babenko

"My little son already sings the chorus by himself at two and a half. Come on, let's do it together, let's do it together. Thank you."

If I Were a Tailor · RussianMaryna V.

"I am Latvian from Riga, but I love Israel very much, its free and talented people."

Hatikvah · RussianAlex B.

"In a thousand years people will still listen to this song. Congratulations."

Tumbalalaika · RussianYuriy G. (Ukraine)

For Educators, Researchers, and Archives

Available for institutional use.

The Jewish Songs for All collection is offered for use by museums, archives, researchers, educators, and anyone seeking to preserve and share Jewish musical heritage. Each video contains audio, a still image, and a description with full lyrics, source attribution, and historical context — designed for classroom and archival use.

For inquiries about licensing, archival access, classroom materials, or institutional partnerships, please contact us directly.

Channelyoutube.com/@RigliMusic

Emaildoublesign28@gmail.com

ProducerWalter J. Kin (RIGLI)

Russian adaptationsOlga Anikina · St. Petersburg

Jewish songs,
carried to all

The aim is simple.

Three voices, one collection.

From the catalog.

Hava Nagila

Hatikvah

Tumbalalaika

Chiribim Chiribom

A Handful of Happiness

By the Stove

From every corner.

Available for institutional use.

Jewish songs,carried to all

The aim is simple.

Three voices, one collection.

From the catalog.

Hava Nagila

Hatikvah

Tumbalalaika

Chiribim Chiribom

A Handful of Happiness

By the Stove

From every corner.

Available for institutional use.

Jewish songs,
carried to all