Russia’s Deputy PM: We lost Eurovision, but Europe will collapse under gays and ISIS
“Russia is not threatened by the West. Its foundations collapse under the onslaught of [ISIS] and gays.”
–Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin, writing on Twitter in response to a Washington Post article about his country’s second place position in last week’s Eurovision Song Contest.
The article opined that Russia, which dueled with Sweden for the top spot until the latter broke away for a clear victory, was hampered in its efforts by its anti-gay stance and its part in the Ukraine conflict. This, despite a slightly ironic but well-received song by singer Polina Gagarina that emphasized peace and tolerance.
During the voting results, booing could be heard from the live audience in Austria whenever points were awarded to Russia. Eurovision is known for being incredibly gay-friendly and Russia was treated to similarly negative reactions from audience members at last year’s event, which was the first Eurovision after the nation’s law banning “gay propaganda” came into effect. When bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst won the 2014 competition, Russia threatened to pull out of the contest, though ultimately capitulated.
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