Blog Post 2

The Eurovision Song Contest is a display of a variety of cultures through songs and performances. Countries come together every year with a range of performances that consist of a multitude of colors, symbols, and progressive technology. Each country submits a song to be displayed and performed. Russia has put forth a variety of performances with diverse genres, visual devices, and staging. Performances are an opportunity to represent a country and find a connection to its national identity. Russia has a complex national identity that is widely debated. However, I will be analyzing one of Russia’s more recent performances at Eurovision, along with its potential connection to Russia’s national identity. 

Russia’s performance in 2019 was represented by “Scream” (2019), performed by Sergey Lazarev in Israel. The song appears to consist of Lazarev’s interaction with another person, supposedly a significant other. He attempts to hide his tears until, at last, he lets them out. The performance begins with a gradual, quiet tone but picks up momentum throughout, ending with an outgoing burst of energy. Lazarev employed plenty of visual devices and symbolism. Throughout the show, there are multiple mirrors, which can represent a few things. There is a copy of Lazarev in each mirror, potentially symbolizing the multiple versions/personalities Lazarev may have. Lazarev also appears to be stuck inside the mirrors, representing the beginning of the performance’s confined emotions. The song also appeared to have a dominant blue color, represented through the mirrors, rain, and background images. The color blue itself holds a tranquil presence and carries effects that soothe and relax, similar to crying/tears (Olsen, 2021). The background seen behind Lazarev appears to be a dark blue color, possibly representing the night sky into which he “screams.”

Furthermore, the song itself was a solo performance with no additional performers or dancers. The reason for this is to emphasize the loneliness that Lazarev may feel in the song. The mirrors show multiple versions of himself. Lazarev looks around in the mirrors, only to realize it is only himself. The multiple versions of him may also represent Lazarev looking back at his past or past self. Lazarev also motions with his hands against the mirrors representing that he is stuck inside, symbolizing he may be struggling to let out his tears or emotions.

As the song progresses, the quiet tone fades away as Lazarev lets out his tears; this transition is most apparent through the change in background and vocal pitch. The background changes to lightning and rain, representing the lyrics that “Tears are not quiet things” and “Tears will fall, I hear them all” (Sergey Lazarev, 2019, Russia). As the show nears the end, the mirrors’ glass appears to break, and Lazarev seems to break out of the mirror. The breaking of the glass can represent finally getting past the inability to let out tears and letting out his emotions. Another interpretation of this act can stem from the lyrics, “Echoes, rivers of loneliness hitting the walls of my heart” (Sergey Lazarev, 2019, Russia). Where Lazarev is breaking free from the walls of his heart and leaving the loneliness, he feels behind. Another view of the breaking of glass can relate to the breakup of the USSR; after the dissolution, Russia was its own nation. Similarly, after breaking up, Lazarev was on his own; the breaking of glass can represent a new beginning to an old end. 

There were also a variety of camera angles and shots. In the performance, the camera focused on Lazarev’s face, which used to show the emotions he expressed. The camera angles attempted to have a visually closer interaction with Lazarev, which would create a stronger emotional connection to the song for the viewer. There are instances where the camera focused on the stage as a whole. The wide and zoomed-out camera angles can show the various visual elements used on the stage to aid in appealing to the visual and auditory senses of the viewers. Lazarev’s performance as a whole had a strong blend of visuals and vocals/music that allowed him to appeal to the viewer’s senses.

Lazarev’s past plays a large role in the performance as well. Lazarev was born in Moscow, Russia. He began singing in a classical choir and joined various contests growing up. He is well known for his pop duo group in 2002, “Smash!!” The group, however, disbanded a few years later. Lazarev’s first appearance in Eurovision was in 2016, where he finished in third place (“Sergey Lazarev - Russia”). His latest song also awarded him third place, seemingly connecting to Russia and its national identity struggle.

Russia’s national identity has been a complex one that has been debated for a while (Markova, 2020). National identity is defined as having a sense of a nation as a whole to bring the population together. Traits such as traditions, culture, and language often make up national identity. One aspect of Russia’s national identity is language. Even during the time of the Soviet Union, the official language was Russian. This aspect of national identity carried over with the dissolution of the USSR.

On the other hand, Lazarev’s performance lacks the alignment to Russia’s national identity as he performs in English. However, singing in English would provide a wider audience and a better understanding of the visual devices and lyrics of the song. Another point is that Lazarev may be attempting to appeal to the western audience by incorporating the English language. The misalignment appears to be that Russia attempts to influence the population to speak Russian over the years. A part of linguistic reconciliation efforts in Russia came from the media, where a popular radio station Ekho Moskvy featured broadcasts of “Govorim po-russki” (“Let’s speak Russian”) (Gorham, 2012). Lazarev grew up in Russia, experiencing these efforts and participating in the Russian language and culture. As a result, Lazarev could have performed the song in Russian. Instead, the song was sung in English, misaligning the national identity. 

To add to Russia’s national identity, Russia is a multiethnic society comprising various ethnic groups with multiple languages. The performance tends to lack the representation of those various groups. The show also lacks any additional performers or dancers, not allowing for diversity to be represented. However, changing the performance by adding more performers could have possibly taken away meaning from the show as the overall theme was loneliness. Lazarevs’ apparent sexual orientation seems to be straight. This orientation can be due to various reasons; the largest may be due to Russia’s societal norms concerning the LGBTQ+ community. As researched by the US department of justice, “The USSD HR Report 2019 noted, ‘LGBTI persons reported significant societal stigma and discrimination, which some attributed to official promotion of intolerance and homophobia” (“Russia: Sexual Orientation, 2020, p. 61). However, in the lyrics, there is no mention of gender pronouns or names. Lazarev may have a certain sexual orientation but may not express his orientation due to the fear of societal stigma and discrimination. Despite this, due to the lack of definitive pronouns or references, it isn’t easy to deduce his orientation. 

Furthermore, the song was written by Sharon Vaughn and Dimitris Kontopoulos. The writers originate from Sweden and Greece, respectively. The composers are Philip Kirkorov and Dimitris Kontopoulos. Kirkorov originates from Bulgaria. While there is a variety of musicians, they tend to originate from relatively the same area. Due to this, there appears to be a lack of diversity in the writing and composition. Adding on, Lazarevs attire for the performance consisted of all-white clothing. In previous performances by Russia, traditional clothing is often used to represent Russia’s culture. However, Lazarev used all-white clothing, possibly as means of symbolism. One interpretation could be a means of contrast from the gloomy and dark background. Another reason could be that the white clothes represent a blank canvas for the emptiness and loneliness from leaving the other person. Attire is an area where Lazarev could have represented any religious connotations. As a whole, Lazarev tends to represent Russia’s national identity in certain aspects yet avoids it in other aspects. This combination allows for a performance that appeals to a wide audience but still represents Russia on stage.

Russia has put forth a variety of fascinating performances over the years. This year was no exception. The song “Scream” by Sergey Lazarev used a diverse range of visual and auditory elements. However, there was a lack of representation and diversity in the performance. Lazarev attempted to incorporate the national identity of Russia in his song without taking away the song’s appeal to a wide audience. The song had a great deal of symbolism and imagery; however, there is room for improvement in Russia’s representation in Eurovision. 

Word Count: 1453

References

Gorham, Michael S. “Language Culture and National Identity in Post-Soviet Russia.” Cambridge University Press, 2012, https://boap.uib.no/books/sb/catalog/download/3/5/109-1?inline=1.

Markova, Maria. “The Political Use of Soviet Nostalgia to Develop a Russian National Identity.” E, E-International Relations, 14 July 2020, www.e-ir.info/2020/07/14/the-political-use-of-soviet-nostalgia-to-develop-a-russian-national-identity/.

“Russia: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression .” United States Department of Justice, Nov. 2020, https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1347341/download.

Sergey Lazarev. (2019). “Scream” (Russia). Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Tel Aviv [DVD].  Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group.

“Sergey Lazarev - Russia - Tel Aviv 2019.” Eurovision.tv, 2019, eurovision.tv/participant/sergey-lazarev-2019.