"Chanson russe," "Chanson de Paracha," "Parasha's Aria," and "The Russian Maiden's Song" are different names or arrangements of the same piece: the aria which follows the Overture in Stravinsky's Marva of 1922, his opera buffa in one act after Pushkin. Arranged variously for soprano and orchestra, for soprano and chamber orchestra, for soprano and piano, for violin and piano, and for cello and piano, the Chanson de Paracha is certainly the most popular aria from any of Stravinsky's operas.

Like the vocal sections of the ballet Pulcinella (1919 - 1920) that preceded it and the ballet Le Baiser de la fée (1928) that followed it, the Chanson de Paracha is a pastiche aria located stylistically between Glinka and Tchaikovsky, wholly sentimental in substance and wholly ironic in tone. The violin-and-piano arrangement of the Chanson Russe was made by Stravinsky and violinist Samuel Dushkin in April 1937. The cello-and-piano arrangement was made by Stravinsky and D. Markevitch.

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