In case you are not aware of the Eurovision drama currently taking place, here is an update. Ukraine will be represented at the 2016 Eurovision by the singer Jamala who’ll perform a song about the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. The entire 250,000 population of Crimean Tatars was deported by Stalin in an act of ethnic cleansing that led to the deaths of over 100,000 of the Tatars. Jamala’s song is about this genocide perpetrated by Stalin.
As you can imagine, Russians are outraged by the song. Even though it doesn’t mention Stalin, the idea that any form of criticism of their idol will be made in public makes Russians very angry. They tried to get the song banned on the grounds that it constitutes political speech. The European Broadcasting Union, however, demured and let the song stay in the contest. The singer’s family had been among the deported, and preventing Jamala from singing about her family’s tragic experience to please Russians would be too bizarre.
Well, at least this Eurovision scandal is more meaningful than the one with the bearded woman.
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