Just found this thread and it really brought me back in memory.
As a child, C 1944/5, my Dad had a record that had been manufactured to play on one side only. It was several inches greater in diameter than all the usual 78s that we had and it too played at 78rpm. It was a choral version of THE VOLGA BOATMEN which began with the voices sounding in the distance and increasing in volume, until eventually fading once more into the seeming distance. It was a very dramatic and moving version and, although the old disc is long gone, it still haunts my memory. I recall how I was able to envision the men hauling the barges from along the river bank all of which my Dad had explained to me.
I'm delighted to read so much about this great Russian folksong. Thank you all.