Introduction to Intervision
On Saturday evening, Russia organized the final of its Intervision song competition, a event from the Soviet times, which was restarted by President Vladimir Putin as a conservative answer to the Western Eurovision song competition. Russian artists have been banned from participating in Eurovision since Moscow in 2022.
What is Intervision?
Moscow says that the competition aims to promote the "national identity" and "traditional values". There will be no "perversions and mockery about human nature", according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a remark that apparently aimed at Eurovision’s pro-LGBTQ+ stance. The queer community in Russia has been followed in recent years.
The competition includes 23 countries, such as former Soviet republics like Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, as well as Brazil, China, and India, which are partners of Russia. The artists will compete for a cash prize of 30 million rubles, with the organizers hoping for over a billion television viewers to watch the gala. Russia is represented by the ultra-nationalist singer Yaroslav Dronov, aka Shaman, who will perform the song "directly into the heart".
Geopolitics in Focus
Apart from Serbia and Belarus, no European countries will be represented in the competition, an example of the freeze in Euro-Russian relationships due to the war in Ukraine. However, in contrast to its European partners, the United States has not avoided the event supported by the Kremlin. Singer Vassy, born in Australia, will perform on stage for the USA, and rock singer Joe Lynn Turner will also represent the US on the jury.
The next Eurovision song competition is scheduled to take place in Vienna in 2026. The Intervision song competition is seen as a conservative alternative to the Western Eurovision, with a focus on promoting traditional values and national identity.
