Moscow is looking for a new artist. Ukrainian singer Susana Jamaladinova has been included on Russia’s wanted list for violating criminal law, Russian state news agencies reported this Monday, November 20, broadcast by Sky News.
The 40-year-old artist, who performs under the stage name Jamala, won the 2016 edition of the Eurovision contest thanks to a song that refers to the deportation in 1944 of nearly 200,000 Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union, while This same region was invaded and then annexed by the Russian army in 2014.
Already a debate in 2016
According to the independent Russian media Mediazona, this registration was motivated by a law in force since 2022 that prohibits the dissemination of false information about the Russian army and the ongoing fighting in Ukraine.
In 2016, Russia had already protested against Susana Jamaladinova’s victory in judging the song. 1944 contrary to competition rules, which prohibit any political speech. Although it does not directly condemn the actions of the Soviet power of the time, the winning title referred to the suffering of an entire people.
Lyrics like “When strangers come, they come to your house. They kill you and say, ‘We’re not guilty,'” largely referred to this. And her performer did not hide the song’s resonance with the recent annexation of this Ukrainian region. “Crimean Tatars are desperate and need support,” she said at the time.
Source: BFM TV
