There are mounting calls in Russia to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest this year, with pro-Kremlin lawmakers accusing host country Ukraine of being anti-Russian and a prominent pop star calling Ukraine's victory last year political and unfair. RFE/RL's Tom Balmforth has been gauging the mood in Moscow:
Question Mark Hangs Over Russia's Eurovision Entry Amid Boycott Calls
MOSCOW -- Every year the Eurovision pop contest brings together nations to revel in a weird and wonderful spectacle, and cast aside political differences -- mostly.
But with Eurovision 2017 set to be staged in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv in May, politics might be an insurmountable hurdle for Russia, where lawmakers and a leading pop star are calling for Moscow to boycott the competition.
A March 13 deadline looms for countries to register contestants with Eurovision's organizers, to name their song, and to submit a video recording of their intended performance. But it remains unclear whom, if anyone, Russia plans to send.
Meanwhile, there have been open calls for a boycott from outspoken Kremlin-loyal lawmakers Iosif Kobzon and Vitaly Milonov, as well as from flamboyant pop king Filipp Kirkorov. The Kremlin has not formally joined the calls, but has said it believes there could be security problems for Russians in Ukraine.
Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014 and has backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 9,750.
Russian state TV, meanwhile, has painted a frightening picture claiming that ethnic Russians face persecution in Ukraine, a portrayal Kyiv and its Western allies have denounced as propaganda.
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