Russia Rumored to Skip 2017 Eurovision After Ukraine Wins with Controversial Song

Jamala's song, "1944," caused many Russians to react negatively as they suggested that her ballad was totally against them.

By Marvie Basilan, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The weekend was a blast for Ukraine as Jamala won Eurovision 2016 but despite the celebrations, Russia is in a stir and a Russian senator suggests that his country might skip next year's competition due to the "political" agenda that allegedly made Jamala win.

According to ABC News, Senator Frants Klintsevich told Russian media, "It was not the Ukrainian singer Jamala and her song 1944 that won the Eurovision 2016, it was politics that beat the art." He went on to speculate that there is a huge possibility Russia won't be in the list of contenders for next year's contest.

Jamala's song, "1944," caused many Russians to react negatively as they suggested that her ballad was totally against them. Jamala, on the other hand, reiterated that she wrote the song to honor her great-grandmother's story of the Crimean Tatars being deported by the Soviet Union during the second World War.

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It is also worth noting that Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, sparking an ongoing feud among the states. Jamala's recent win further ignited that battle, with many reacting on social media.

Jamala is of Crimean descent and her great-grandmother was among those who were deported in 1944. While she has clarified that her song was inspired by the memory of her Crimean family and others who were deported by Josef Stalin, some said her number was also meant to attack current Russian president Vladimir Putin, who ordered the military push into Crimea in February 2014.

According to CNN, Jamala told reporters after she won the prominent song contest, "I would prefer that all these terrible things did not happen to my great-grandmother, and I would even prefer if this song did not exist."

"1944" has no mention of Russia or its rulers. The song begins with the lyrics:
When strangers are coming
They come to your house
They kill you all and say,
'We're not guilty, not guilty
Where is your mind?
Humanity cries
You think you are gods
But everyone dies
Don't swallow my soul

For Klintsevich, Ukraine will continue to bring in politics when Eurovision 2017 begins, but for Jamala and her people, the celebrations push forward.