Russia Threatens To Boycott Next Year’s Eurovision Song Contest After Ukraine Win

Ukrainian singer Jamala has won the 2016 Eurovision song contest with a controversial piece about Stalin’s deportation of Crimean Tatars. Australian and Russian performers grabbed the 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Jamala’s song ‘1944’ was a ballad about the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars, which does seem like it might violate the Eurovision rule about the inclusion of overtly political songs. However large numbers of the Russian public voted for the Ukrainian song, awarding it 10 points, while the Ukrainian public gave Russia’s entry the maximum 12 points. “Of course I can’t do that”, she told the British paper.

Jamala whose great-grandmother was among the Crimean Tatar victims, burst into tears in a news conference as she was responding to the questions about her song saying that “I would prefer that all these bad things did not happen at all to my great-grandmother and I would even prefer this song not to exist”.

The people of Russian Federation and Ukraine are still on good terms, results of public voting in the Eurovision 2016 final has shown.

Several Russian politicians said a pop music contest that is supposed to be free of politics had been skewed by political considerations and anti-Russian stereotypes.

Franz Klintzevich, another member of the Russian upper house of parliament, said he believed the Ukrainian hosts would exploit next year’s contest to advance their political agenda in their conflict with Russia.

Tatars, a Muslim people from the Black Sea peninsula, opposed the 2014 annexation of Crimea, which followed the overthrow of a Moscow-backed president in Kiev.

“I really want peace and love to everyone”, she said, hoisting the Eurovision trophy and a Ukrainian flag.

The country came out on top with their contestant Jamala and her song 1944, edging ahead of the competition. ‘The annexation adds sadness to my life.

Ukraine has won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm.

Meanwhile, Australia had led the way after the jury votes were revealed first under the new system. Russia, the starting favourite, received the biggest number of viewers’ votes.

Historically, Eurovision prohibits artists from making political statements in their performances.

Guest-nation Australia took home second place, and Russian Federation, which had been the favorite to win, took home third.

On the other hand, Australia came in at second with 511 points with Dami Im singing the Sound of Silence.

Ukraine’s former prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk congratulated Jamala while making a political point in a passionate Facebook post.