The last few minutes before the announcement of the winner of the Euro Vision Song Contest (ESC) could be charged no more political symbolism. Since Russia was Ukraine against. Two neighboring countries, which have now become enemies.
Fans of “hybrid war” who believe that in the modern world everything can be a weapon and theater of war – media, civil society, social networks – could feel confirmed in their theory: Moscow and Kiev crossing arms on the music front.
The juries of the two countries negotiated anyway as if they befänden in hybrid war: No millimeters country, not a single point for the enemy. As winner of the debate showed the Crimean Tatar singer Jamala, with their emotional, very personal song “1944″.
She sang at ESC in Stockholm about the suffering of her family in the expulsion of the Crimean peninsula under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Your great-grandmother was deported in 1944 with more than 200,000 other Crimean Tatars by the Soviet authorities. Half of them died on the way to Central Asia. The little daughter of Jamalas grandmother – Grandmother of the singer – died in the overcrowded freight
The song is about an old injury, but has for the Crimea. -Annexion current through Russia explosiveness. For the Crimean Tatars boycotted two years ago the controversial referendum; they were opposed to the connection to Russia. Meanwhile, the Crimean Tatar self-government body Mejlis of Moscow as “extremist organization” has been banned.
Several activists were arrested or exiled from the Crimea, others intimidated with searches. The message to the Crimean Tatars currently reads: Adjusts you, or goes away. Therefore, many families feel reminiscent of the tragic history of their people.
A pretty explosive stuff so for the ESC. So explosive that the Russian state television preferred in transmission of the semi-finals, the Crimea and not to mention the deportation only. In Europe, the song is perceived as a prayer for the fate of those people who “leave voluntarily or involuntarily their homes in search of a better life,” said the commentator. “This problem came from the 20th to the 21st century.”
The head of the Ukrainian National Television, Zurab Alasania, said in view of the volatile situation before the finale: Should Russia win, Ukraine would probably not the competition in Moscow . participate
an encouragement for the frustrated Ukrainians
After defeating Jamala in Ukraine as a national heroine celebrated. They bring the country confidence and joy in difficult times; their victory is symbolically that Ukraine is part of Europe. “It’s my chance to tell Europe that we do not just have, but do not give up and continue to fight,” the singer of the “world” had said on the competition during their preparation.
Your success should cheer through a difficult period, the Ukrainians: Many of them feel that Europe had forgotten the Crimean annexation and the war in Donbass. They also want from their own government more progress in the fight against corruption and an improvement in the economic situation.
How important is the ESC-win for the self-image of the country, was also the fact that the President of the singer congratulated. “With their song the whole Ukrainian people have appealed to the world”, the Petro Poroshenko said. “The truth has prevailed, as always.”
leader of the Crimean Tatars were happy that the problems of their people would not forget. And the former Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said: “Ukraine is victorious and conquer the Crimea will be Ukrainian..”
Russia’s state-affiliated media make their anger air
In Russia, however, there was a completely different mood. The Russian singer Sergei Lazarev landed after aggregation of points from viewers and juries in third place; in the audience vote he got the most points.
the fact that he lost but was quickly interpreted on Russian television as a political decision. Many Russians feel cheated and hurt. “People have given us the first place, which showed that juries might have been deliberately too few points,” Lazarev himself was quoted by state television.
When it comes to competitions, in Russia the following Macho logic is prevalent: If we win, happens because we are a winning nation. If we lose, the others are to blame – about unfair referee.
This way of thinking broke even after the ESC final track. “The European panel has Lazarev stole the victory,” headlined the tabloid “Komsomolskaya Pravda” and compared the juries “Arts councils” of the Soviet era, censorship perpetrated. The news site “Life News” offered readers an interpretation in the spirit of “hybrid war” to: “Many experts and professionals working for the global trend: Russia worse display than it really is.”
an author of the tabloid” Moskovsky Komsomolets “wrote that the jury’s decision was a” another brick “, which had been thrown in the direction of their country. “Europe says that Russia did not win the Second World War, and Russia did not win the ESC 2016 … Well.” She called Russia’s ESC participants should travel in the coming year with an orchestra of Defense and a song about the “Victory Day” to Kiev.
another columnist same newspaper, however, wrote of a “completely fair” victory Jamalas and admitted he had said after the first sample: her song is the best of all. But his voice remained an exception in aggrieved chorus of government-related media.
Next year the conflict is likely to continue during the ESC. Then the competition will be held in Ukraine. At present we assume the arrival of the Russians alone could be difficult because there is no direct air service between the two countries.
Only the results of the viewers vote can possibly hope for a more or less peaceful outcome of the conflict. In Ukraine, the audience gave the Russian participants with the most points. In Russia they helped Jamala least for second place. At least this ESC fans were apparently not in war mood.
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