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Ban on Russia's Eurovision Contesant Samoylova Upheld

By Nazrin Gadimova March 24, 2017

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Julia Samoylova, who was chosen to represent Russia with the song "Flame Is Burning", began losing function of her legs during childhood due to spinal muscular atrophy, and has used a wheelchair ever since. / Channel One Russia

Russian singer Julia Samoylova will not participate in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Kiev on May 9-13, after the Security Service of Ukraine has banned her from entering the country.

Samoylova has been banned for a period of three years “due to a violation of country's legislation,” security service spokesperson Olena Gitlyanska wrote on her Facebook profile on March 22, in reference to Samoylova’s 2015 visit to and performance in Crimea.

Relations between Kiev and Moscow plummeted following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine by Russia in 2014. Ukraine considers Crimea illegally occupied territory and reserves the right to impose a travel ban on anyone who visits it without obtaining appropriate permission from Kiev first.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest, expressed its disappointment with this decision in an official statement:

"We have to respect the local laws of the host country, however, we are deeply disappointed in this decision as we feel it goes against both the spirit of the Contest and the notion of inclusivity that lies at the heart of its values.”

The EBU further promised to “continue a dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities, with the aim of ensuring that all artists can perform at the 62nd Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv in May.”

The EBU has offered Samoylova the opportunity to give her performance via satellite. If Moscow agrees, it would be the first country to take part remotely.

However, Channel One Russia, which was responsible for choosing Samoylova, has refused the idea, saying it is contrary to the rules of the contest.

"We consider the proposal of distance participation strange and we refuse it because it certainly contradicts the very meaning of the event, the strict rule of which is the live performance on the stage of the Eurovision," representatives from the TV channel said.

Russia said it will give Samoylova a chance to represent the country in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, whose location will be determined by the citizenship of this year’s winner. 

"In case Ukraine does not allow Julia Samoylova to participate in [this year’s] Eurovision, then, regardless of the venue of the contest, Russia will be represented by Julia Samoylova next year," Channel One Russia stated.

Samoylova, who was chosen to represent Russia with the song "Flame Is Burning", is 27 and wheelchair-bound. She began losing function of her legs during childhood due to spinal muscular atrophy. In 2013 she was the runner-up on season three of “Faktor A”, Russia’s version of the hit television show “The X Factor.” The following year she took part in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics.