The political nature of Moscow’s decisions regarding the Eurovision song contest in 2017, was sealed. Just because it takes place in the country, which is war. Russia decided to boycott the contest or to send some odious artist, like Kobzon — that would be perceived as a political move. Decide to send someone as neutral as possible — it would be treated as a soft option and attempt to improve relations. But, admittedly, those who came up to send to Kiev wheelchair-bound Julia Samoylova, know how to use the situation to the maximum.
Perhaps in their worldview, a solution is an adequate response to last year’s victory singer Jamala. Say, you and your party speculated sophisticated, but easy-to-read combination of historical events and political realities, and we will check Europe for tolerance. It is obvious that we are talking only about politics, because of the song contest has long been firmly forgotten. Moreover, now Eurovision is not even considered as some of the competition, sport. Now this is politics in its purest form, and indeed the performances themselves, and even the final vote — not the most interesting part of the process.
The situation developed as follows: first, in one of the TV show on First channel, which this year was responsible for choosing participants from Russia and the need to cover the contest itself, there comes a scandal involving the disabled. Many rushed to defend his rights from the intolerant Vladimir Pozner and Renata Litvinova. In a country where the disabled have almost no possibilities to lead a normal life, one of the hero of the TV show suddenly has a huge army of defenders. After a few days the First channel selects kolyasochny as a participant of “Eurovision”, and it looks like “work above mistakes”, it even time to consider a symbol of changing attitudes towards people with disabilities, if not in the whole country, then at least on television, that the Russian situation is almost equivalent.
Some saw this as even some manifestation of the notorious “thaw”, which now it is fashionable to notice in any neudesic events. Appears and the version according to which such a choice was made to disarm the Ukrainian public and the media, they say, will hesitate to show aggression to the disabled. But after a few hours it became known that Yulia Samoilova problems may occur when entering to Ukraine, because she visited the annexed Crimea. At this point, it was impossible not to marvel at the perfection of evil and the limitless cynicism inherent in this option.
Beat on pity
It is fair to say that among the more or less famous Russian artists, of which the First channel would send to the Eurovision song contest, it is not so easy to find those who during these three years not visited in the Crimea. Even conventionally, alternative, popular with a significant part of the liberal intelligentsia Sergei Shnurov performed with his “Leningrad” at the festival in Sevastopol. But Shnurov, if it is not allowed to enter Ukraine, and will not participate in any competition, not pity, but Samoilov is a very. This story is being sold to the public, and not only Russian.
It is unlikely Ukraine and Ukrainians are much concerned about how this conflict will be used for domestic propaganda — saw and such. But it would be foolish to expect that such an attractive area as “Eurovision” will not be used for the escalation of anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Europe. “Girl with a terrible diagnosis, heroically struggling with the disease, forced to say goodbye to a childhood dream at the will of the Ukrainian junta. And what she so severely punished? Just because she sang a couple of love songs in Kerch” — that’s the main plot of preparing for the coming months.
Unsubtle policy
Moscow obviously provokes Kyiv in the hard reaction, to provoke him, and not particularly necessary: any Ukrainian politician one hundred and fifty times will think before to speak out in defense of the Russian participant of “Eurovision”. The room for maneuver is very small: let one of the offender — and will not defend ourselves from accusations of treason. Pushing Kiev to the hard decision, the Kremlin is stirring things up in Ukraine itself, fueling conventionally Pro-Russian audience. The situation for Moscow is advantageous in any case: if suddenly SBU will not see Yulia Samoilova threats to national security of Ukraine and will allow her entry, it will be treated as though indirectly, but the recognition of the Crimea Russia.
Ukraine, perhaps, could turn this situation to their favor or at least not to lose. It will have to come up with some sort of subtle solution which, on the one hand, would allow the Russian party to participate in the competition, and with another — would not have led to a government crisis or, God forbid, riots. In the end, it would wish, and a separate law about a particular person make, if needed. But the fact of the matter is that war is the worst possible time for thin and delicate political decisions.
