I think it was inspired as a tribute to Russian partisans (back in WW I this meant Russians loyal to Czar and opposed to communism). Partisan Russians often refer to Russia as "holy Russia" and as "Mother Russia".
At the time this song was written, the world had been reading Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago". Solzhenitsyn had fought for the Soviets in WW II, been decorated, and was arrested near the end of the war and sent to a labour camp "deep into the heart of holy Russia" for 8 years.
Al Stewart obviously knew his military history and imagined himself a young homesick Soviet soldier. Solzhenitsyn himself was free in the US for years and a bit of a celebrity - still, homesick, he returned to holy Russia near the end of his days, calling for a return to the Russian monarchy and lamenting the soullessness of post-wall Russia.
The song describes that deep attachment to the Russian empire despite its problems.
I think it was inspired as a tribute to Russian partisans (back in WW I this meant Russians loyal to Czar and opposed to communism). Partisan Russians often refer to Russia as "holy Russia" and as "Mother Russia".
At the time this song was written, the world had been reading Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago". Solzhenitsyn had fought for the Soviets in WW II, been decorated, and was arrested near the end of the war and sent to a labour camp "deep into the heart of holy Russia" for 8 years.
Al Stewart obviously knew his military history and imagined himself a young homesick Soviet soldier. Solzhenitsyn himself was free in the US for years and a bit of a celebrity - still, homesick, he returned to holy Russia near the end of his days, calling for a return to the Russian monarchy and lamenting the soullessness of post-wall Russia.
The song describes that deep attachment to the Russian empire despite its problems.