Question
In one musical, a character travelling through this country sings that “A son becomes a man / at his father’s knee” in a song that ends with soldiers saluting each other. In another musical set in this country, characters proclaim “we put down in writing what is happening in our minds” in the song “Letters”. A character born in this country sings “Heart don’t fail me now / Courage don’t desert me” in the song (*) “Journey to the Past”. A woman attempting to elope in this country is called a “shameless good-for-nothing” by her godmother in the song “In My House”. Those two characters have the epithets “old-school” and “young” in the prologue of a musical set in this country. For 10 points, name this home country of Pierre in a musical about Natasha and the Great Comet of 1812. ■END■
ANSWER: Russia [accept Soviet Union or USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics] (the non-Natasha and the Great Comet of 1812 clues are about the musical Anastasia, which features scenes in USSR-era Russia)
<ZB, Musicals>
= Average correct buzz position