Russia unveils Eurovision entry as Kiev mulls ban for singer

Russia has announced its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, stirring controversy in Ukraine on Monday as it emerged the singer has performed in Moscow-annexed Crimea.

Channel One state television on Sunday evening announced that 27-year-old Yuliya Samoilova will represent the country in May with an upbeat ballad called “Flame is Burning.”

A wheelchair user, Samoilova performed at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. She comes from the remote Komi region and moved to Moscow after competing in a television talent contest.

Ukraine condemned the choice of the singer as a Russian “provocation,” while the Kremlin insisted it opposes “politicising” the contest.

Russia’s participation in Kiev this year is fraught with political tensions as the two ex-Soviet neighbours have been locked in a bitter feud since Moscow annexed Crimea in March 2014.

The contest known for its kitsch but catchy pop songs is avowedly politically neutral. But politics could overshadow this year’s competition, as a bloody conflict that Moscow is accused of fuelling drags on in east Ukraine.

Samoilova confirmed to AFP that in June 2015 she took part in a gala concert in Crimea aimed at popularising sport.

This could jeopardise her participation as Ukraine has blacklisted Russian pop singers on this grounds.

The country’s security service announced a blacklist of 140 Russian artists in October, although Samoilova was not among them.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told Liga.net news site that “the security service is checking her (Samoilova).”

“I think the law should be the same for everyone. Russia has been carrying out acts of provocation for many years,” Klimkin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Russia wishes “to avoid any politicising of Eurovision and we consider this absolutely unacceptable.”

He said Samoilova was “the choice of the Russian television channel which sends the participant. We don’t see anything provocative here.”

Asked if she thought her Crimean performance could cause problems, Samoilova said: “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a problem.”

“I try not to think about it,” Samoilova said of the politics swirling around Kiev’s hosting of the show. “My aim is to sing well.”

“Since childhood I’ve dreamt of getting on Eurovision. It’s the dream of my whole life,” she said.

She said that her participation for Russia was firmed up early this month with what she calls a “great song.”

– ‘Not disadvantaged’ –

The singer has been in a wheelchair since a bad reaction to a vaccine in childhood, according to the biography on her website, but refuses to be defined by this.

“I don’t feel that I am a disadvantaged person,” she said.

Eurovision had its first wheelchair user contestant in 2015 with Poland’s Monika Kuszynska.

Some Ukrainian politicians argued that Kiev should not make an exception for Samoilova due to her disability.

“Russia is hiding behind a disabled person… hoping that Ukraine won’t have the guts to ban entry to a person in a wheelchair for breaking laws,” said Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Brygynets on Facebook.

Another MP, Sergiy Vysotskyi of the People’s Front liberal pro-European party, wrote on Facebook: “Whether you are a person with disabilities or an Olympian, if you breached sovereignty and sang at a concert of the occupiers in Crimea, that means you fall under the entry ban to Ukraine.”

The contest comprises two semi-finals on May 9 and 11, followed by the final on May 13.

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