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“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 Soviet Union under the communist party. Under such government social aspects and ideology became highly standardized, leading to little tolerance on diversity and subsequently to conservatism. As discussed in the previous blog, two of the largest pillars that holds the current Russian identity are Russian Orthodox beliefs and the othering/antagonization of the West. Both identity trait favors conservatism to preserve its uniqueness. The Russian identity made extensive effort to differentiate itself from its “other”- the west.  As the West is seen as liberal, Russia embrace conservatism. This conservatism sync with beliefs of the Russian orthodox Church, creating a society that holds a traditional view on social roles and taboos. This includes gender roles and stereotypes. The Russian orthodox church is a strong advocate for gender roles: “Man has his gaze turned outward – he must work, make money – and woman must be focused inwards, where her children are, where her home is” (Kirill-Head of Russian Orthodox Church, Elder, 2013) and openly condemns feminism “this phenomenon called feminism very dangerous, because feminist organizations proclaim the pseudo-freedom of women, which, in the first place, must appear outside of marriage and outside of the family”. Within the society, woman face stereotypes and discrimination. The unadjusted gender pay gap in Russia is 24.8% (2019) compared to that of 14.1% EU average the same year (European Commission, 2021). Women are expected to marry early and become good home makers, as believed by Russian Orthodox. This inequality normalized due to cultural support, poll in Russia showed “Young women place their own career success and independence fairly low on the scale (eighth or ninth place), but there are still more women who value those qualities in their female cohorts than there are among their male peers (10 and 2 percent, respectively).” (Levinson, 2022) As ages of surveyed woman increase the number falls to 6%, presumably due to these qualities not been reenforced by society. 

Maniza Khamrayeva

               The unique experience of Maniza Shaped her identity and beliefs. Born in Tajikistan in 1991, her family moved to Moscow in 1994 due to the Tajikistan Civil War. Her grandmother is one of the first Muslim woman to remove her vile and begin a career in Tajikistan. Manizha changed her surname from Khamrayeva to Sangin to honor her grandma, who happens to be one of the first people to support her pursue on music. She starts her musical career in 2003 and since became a strong advocate for social justice, speaking against body stereotypes, domestic violence, and xenophobia. She also publicly supports LGBT community in Russia, despite losing fans in the process. She became a goodwill ambassador of UNHCR in 2020. Over all, she is a liberal social justice activist who doesn’t agree with many stereotypes the Russian identity take as norms.

“Russian Women”

               “Russian Woman” is a perfectly match the identity of its performer. The intended audience of the song matches its name. It is a Social Justice song of female empowerment. The song also advocated for peace and societal unity. In the beginning of the song, we can see Maniza imprisoned in a cumbersome set costume (Eurovision, 2021) resembling that of a Russian doll, singing “robotically” showcasing the limitations woman face in Russian society. During this phase the lyric of the song talks about the mindset/societal expectation of Russian woman, implying the society view woman as “small” and need “a helpful hand”. She then sang about “waiting for a ship” making reference to the Russian fairytale “Scarlet Sails” where a young woman wait for her prince to pick her up in a ship. Maniza then unshackles herself from the doll set costume, ditched the robotic style of singing and emerge in a red workwear. Maniza did this to signify the awakening of female independence and self-love, breaking free from stereotypical societal expectations. As this happens, the visuals on the background change from imagery of life in imperial Russia (00:21) to encouraging slogans such as “Be creative” and “Rise up” in English. Maniza choose to present these slogans in English because it symbolizes progressiveness and liberalist ideals for Russian in groups. “For Westernizers in Russia, the 'West' symbolized prog freedom, democracy, civil society, normality, and a nation-state”(Duncan, 2005). The lyrics then mocks the expectations woman faces in Russia: Early Marriage, Having kids, slim figure, etc… the verse ends with “I don’t blame you, But I love myself damn hard”. The singling then switch to Russian folk style in a successful implication of genera smashing. Here the lyrics talk about “They fight, always fight. Everyone around is fighting. But they never pray. Son without a father. Daughter with no father”. This verse accuses those who stars “fighting” breaking families in the process. Although there is no direct reference, relating to prior events before 2021 this verse can be seen as a protest to the military actions conducted by Russia in Ukarine and Syria, military actions that breaks families and force people to left their homeland, much like how Maniza’s family came to Russia.  However, under such circumstances the Russian woman didn’t break, she is strong enough to overcome all obstacles be it those in everyday life or conflicts. “This broken family Can’t break me” The song ended as the background visuals switched to videos of woman from all over Russia, showcasing the diversity and power woman have. Interestingly, Manisha purposefully say “Russia” in English every time it appears in the lyrics. This is to prevent a divide in audience identity. In Russian there is 2 “Russian”. First is ethnic Russians: “русские” (russkiye) and the there is Russian Citizen: “россияне” (rossiyane). In order to not differentiate Ethnic Russians and Russian citizens of other ethnicity, the English “Russia” is chosen to preserve unity amongst the intended audience. Overall, the song is a progressive female empowerment song that calls out for woman independence and peace.

Reception

               Comparing aspects of Russian identity to all that “Russian Woman” stood for, one notices a huge divide. In Russian culture woman is not valued for independence, instead they are valued on the ability to be a “family builder” for comparison men are valued the most for “intelligence”. This is not just opinions by Russian male, many Russian female also express the same ideal. The traditional Russian identity include different gender roles and expectations. (Levinson, 2022) Maniza’s “Russian Woman” does anything but agree with the justification of gender roles, making it the polar opposite to the conservative Russian identity. This difference didn’t go unnoticed by Russian public, and the song became highly controversial. Despite received 363k likes, the official YouTube video of the song also received 197k dislikes (Youtube, 2022). In the comment section we can clearly find signs of discontent within the Russian speaking community. “qope” posted 11 month ago (that would be mar. 2021) “Русские: Песня просто ужас. Иностранцы: It's so different, i like it!” which after google translate, says: “Russians: The song is just awful. Foreigners: It's so different, i like it!” this post gained 26k likes. Within the replisection we can find comments such as “нет, я не фанат их, но песня действительно не из лучших ☹️” written by “вишенка на торте” it translates to “no, I'm not a fan of them, but the song is really not the best ☹️”. Maniza faced a lot of hate from conservative Russian communities performing this song. Members of the Russian parliament (Duma) openly dis the song: “What kind of song is that?”. (BBC, 2021) Host of Tsargrad TV, a Russian woman, commented: “I can’t bring myself to call this singer, Manizha, a Russian woman.” According to Maniza, she is attacked for her Tajikistan identity, her view on woman’s rights and her support for the LGBTQ community. In an interview with BBC Maniza give an example when a woman with 2 children wrote a letter to her, saying she hope Maniza’s aircraft crash when she go to Rotterdam. Thankfully Maniza make it through all the abuse with supports she received from people who think like her and she take on the haters. “I won’t allow myself to be broken,” says Maniza in an interview “If I came apart right now because of the ‘haters’, started crying, started saying ‘oh my God’, then I would prove all of their words to be true.” (Roth, 2021) Maniza stood strong on the Eurovision stage.

               Over all the 2021 Russian Eurovision song: “Russian Women” is an interesting case where the ideals presented in the song doesn’t match the national identity of the state. In fact it conflicts with traditional beliefs within the country. However the song is voted to be the song representing Russia, which may suggest an increasingly liberal view within the country’s people, despite resistance from conservatist Russians. (1591 words)

References

Manizha - Russia - rotterdam 2021. Eurovision.tv. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://eurovision.tv/participant/manizha-2021

Elder, M. (2013, April 9). Feminism could destroy Russia, Russian Orthodox patriarch claims. The Guardian. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/09/feminism-destroy-russia-patriarch-kirill

The gender pay gap situation in the EU. European Commission - European Commission. (2021, November 10). Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-pay/gender-pay-gap-situation-eu_en

Levinson, A. (2022, February 24). Who's to blame for gender stereotypes in Russia? The Moscow Times. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/03/07/whos-to-blame-for-gender-stereotypes-in-russia-a64744

Ndr. (n.d.). ESC 2021: Manizha Singt für Russland "Russian woman" Im finale. Eurovision. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.eurovision.de/videos/2021/ESC-2021-Manizha-singt-fuer-Russland-Russian-Woman-im-Finale,russland1510.html

Duncan, P. (2005). CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN IDENTITY BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. The Historical Journal, 48(1), 277-294.

Manizha - Russian woman - Russia 🇷🇺 - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l01wa2ChX64

BBC. (2021, March 24). Russia's Tajik-born Eurovision star on the abuse she's received. BBC News. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-56501561

Roth, A. (2021, April 9). 'I won't allow myself to be broken': Russia's Eurovision candidate Manizha takes on 'The haters'. The Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/apr/09/russia-eurovision-candidate-manizha-takes-on-the-haters