"The clouds fly gloomly across the border" (Russian: ÃÂð óÃÂðýøÃÂõ ÃÂÃÂÃÂø àþôÃÂààüÃÂÃÂþ), better known as "Tri tankista" (Russian: âÃÂø ÃÂðýúøÃÂÃÂð, literally: the Three Tankmen), is a popular Soviet war song written in 1939. The song served as the unofficial anthem of the Soviet, and later Russian, Border Troops and Armored Forces. The song was first performed on film by actor Nikolai Kryuchkov in the film The Tractor Drivers (1939), shortly after the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.
The song refers to the Battle of Lake Khasan, an attempted Japanese incursion into Siberia in 1938. This battle saw, for the first time, with the exception of the Spanish Civil War, the use and victory of armoured forces by the Soviets. Light tanks then were composed of only three crew members: a driver, a loader, and a commander (serving also as a gunner). It was not until the middle of the Second World War that a radio operator was available in Soviet tanks. The song tells the story of how the tank crew valiantly repelled the Japanese with their battle tanks.
The song lyrics were written by , written to a composition by the Pokrass brothers.