UCOR 1400 04 Eurovision 2022

  “Russian Women”: speaking against the norms In 2021 Russia entered Eurovision with “Russian Woman” by Manizha Dalerovna Sangin (Eurovision website, 2022). In this blogpost I will analyze the song in its 2021 performance at Rotterdam, Netherland, and compare/contrast it with the Russian National identity. The performance is a woman empowerment song that speaks out against social Stereotypes on woman. While the performance fits right into the grand stage of Eurovision, it is highly unusual consider the country it originated from. Despite been named “Russian Woman”, the message delivered by Manizha stood against aspects of the Russian identity, creating much controversies within Russia. To understand how this came to be, we must investigate relevant areas within the Russian identity and the identity of Manizha. Aspects of the Russian Identity The past few centuries saw Russia under the rule of different authoritarian regime, first the Russian Empire under the Tsar then the So...

  The National Identity of Russia What is National identity? National identity is an illogical bound an individual have with its fellow nation members, a sense of belonging one have to a group of individuals. It plays a crucial factor in uniting the people of a national state. (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p.595) In the case of Russia this sense of belonging is greatly tied to its troubled past. The Russian identity is very much a new national identity that emerged in the late 1980’s, basing itself off Soviet and Pre-Imperial identity traits. Through drawing from pre-soviet Russian traits and maintaining a powerful external other, the Russian identity is able to quickly reassert its distinctiveness following the collapse of the Soviet Identity. Religion Nowadays the religion that defines Russia is Orthodox. Currently more than half of Russia belong to the Russian Orthodox church. Despite its status withing Russia nowadays, its rise to popularity is not all smooth sailing. Throughou...