"Weapon" in Moscow's information war Russian song goes viral - but what's really behind it?

Two young Russian girls have landed a viral hit with their song "Sigma Boy". Kiev describes the catchy tune as a "weapon" in Moscow's information war. This is what's behind it.

Dancing on a stage in colorful plush jackets, the two girls sing "Sigma, Sigma Boy, Sigma Boy, Sigma Boy". The stage is illuminated by a colorful light show.

The two girls are 11-year-old Svetlana Chertishcheva - also known by her stage name "Betsy" - and 12-year-old Mariya Yankovskaya. Betsy has been singing children's songs for years, Marija can regularly be seen on the Russian children's TV channel CTC Kids.

Anyone who knows the song knows that it's a catchy tune that's hard to get rid of. And that's despite the fact that "Sigma, Sigma Boy, Sigma Boy, Sigma Boy" is the only part of the song that you can understand. The rest is Russian.

The song was released in October 2024 and is now internationally known. Influencers and stars like Dieter Bohlen dance to the melody on TikTok. The clip has already been viewed over 91 million times on YouTube. It has reached high positions in the charts.

The song was written by Betsy's father Mikhail Chertishchev, a Russian music producer, in collaboration with rock musician Mukka.

A toxic image of men

But what is this song all about? According to Michail Tschertischtschew, it was actually supposed to be a children's song. Mukka had googled the most popular terms in Internet slang for the song, as he told a Russian medium. He landed a direct hit with "Sigma".

The word "Sigma" is mainly used in connection with "Sigma Male". Sigma men are often seen as lone fighters, outsiders and lone wolves with character traits such as self-confidence, independence and self-reliance, who consider no one but themselves to be of value. They focus on their needs, desires and goals.

The manosphere in particular - a group of online communities with misogynistic views - propagates this image of men. They see Patrick Bateman from "American Psycho" as the ideal.

In the song, the two girls sing about flirting with such a "sigma boy": "Every girl wants to dance around with you", they say.

A "patriarchal and pro-Russian worldview"

So is the song simply another questionable catchy tune? No, says German MEP Nela Riehli. In Strasbourg in December, she feared that the song conveyed "patriarchal and pro-Russian world views". It was an example of "Russian infiltration" of public discourse through social media.

Russia was not prepared to accept this criticism. "In the West, they are not content with rejecting everything Russian," wrote Leonid Sluzki, a Russian politician and Duma deputy, on Telegram. "Now European politicians are even afraid of Russian children." And triumphed: "The soft power of Russian culture is winning in the global pop scene."

But a few weeks ago, Kiev also described "Sigma Boy" as a "weapon" in Moscow's information war. The Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation explained that although the song may seem harmless, it promotes a positive image of Russia and the idea of dominance and masculinity among young people.

Sexualization of children?

But not everyone in Russia likes the song: an ultra-conservative Russian Orthodox movement has accused the song's creators of sexualizing children.

However, "Sigma Boy" continues to be played on a continuous loop. There is now even a trap and techno remix of it.