In January 1904, a bloody naval battle took place in the bay of Chemulpo. The Japanese squadron attempted to surround our ships in the bay, but the Russian sailors were not afraid of the enemy. The cruiser 'Varyag' and the gunboat 'Koreets' engaged in battle against 14 Japanese vessels. On the burning ship, the sailors fought until the last shell and, not wanting to be captured, sank the cruiser and blew up the gunboat.

Admiring the feat of the Russian sailors, Austrian poet Rudolf Greintz wrote a poem about the battle and sent it to a Munich newspaper. The poem became extremely popular in Europe and was soon translated into Russian. At that time, Nicholas II announced a competition for the best march in honor of the battle at Chemulpo. Many composers submitted their works, but the winner was 16-year-old bandmaster Alexei Turishchev of the Astrakhan Grenadier Regiment. He recalled: 'The commander came up to me and said: 'Alyosha, a competition for the Varyag march has been announced, try to write it, I believe in you.' That very night, the legendary melody was born! Alexei Turishchev personally welcomed the surviving heroes of the 'Varyag' and 'Koreets', conducting the orchestra at Kursk Station.

The musical piece became very popular in Russia and has long turned into an unofficial anthem of the fleet. However, over the years, the song has changed. For example, during World War I, the verse about the Japanese was removed as they became allies. Today, this fragment is not performed due to political correctness (it contains the phrase 'yellow-faced devils').

As for Alexei Turishchev, he was later assigned to the Izborsk Infantry Regiment, participated in World War I, and then worked as the director of music school No. 1 in Penza until 1957. By that time, few knew that it was Turishchev who created the famous march. Alexei Sergeyevich died at the age of 73 in 1962.