Eurovision 2016 Winner: Russia in Frenzy After Ukraine's Jamala Wins Popular Singing Competition
On Sunday, Ukraine's Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest, causing a stir among Russians as they said her winning number was an anti-Russian anthem.
According to CNN, Jamala, whose full name is Susana Jamaladynova, sang "1944," a song that reminded people of her great-grandmother's story on how Moscow deported members of the Crimean ethnic group during the second World War.
Jamala is of Crimean descent and during World War II, the Crimean Tatars were deported by the Soviet Union, under the reign of Josef Stalin. While Stalin was the one who ordered the Crimeans to be sent off, European outlets believe that Jamala was also attacking current President Vladimir Putin for the Russian military's push into Ukraine back in 2014.
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While Moscow stands on its ground that "1944" was obviously a song against the Russian people, contest officials decided that Jamala's number didn't have "lyrics, speeches or gestures of a political or similar nature."
In February, Jamala told Today that the song came about due to the inspiration she received from her great-grandmother's story about the 1944 event. It turns out that some of her family were included in the deportation list then.
As the Soviet Union's leader during that time, Stalin accused the Tatars of joining hands with the Germans during World War II. This resulted to the deportation of the ethnic tribe, including Jamala's family.
After the competition, Jamala told journalists, "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."
According to BBC News, some Russians have called for a review on Jamala's win as a prankster told Russian TV that the singer allegedly admitted to her song's political hidden meaning.
Jamala continued to iterate after her victory that her song was about "truth" as she only wants "peace and love" for everyone. "I was sure that if you talk about truth it really can touch people," she said.
For many years, Russia has become an all-time favorite in the competition and while it garnered a total of 491 points, the country fell on third place. Australia is celebrating on the second spot, with 511 points, while Jamala and her people are proud of her 534 points that led her to take home the victory.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has sent his congratulations to Jamala through Twitter, as many others from Ukraine shared Jamala's joy.
