Ukraine Bans Russia's Eurovision Contestant From Entry

MAY 15 2017 · 12:35

Yulia Samoylova (blocked) · "Flame Is Burning" · Russia · 2017 Language: English · Venue: International Exhibition Centre · Host: Kyiv, Ukraine · Type: scandal · Broadcast: streaming era Ukraine is hosting Eurovision after Jamala's 2016 win. Russia selects Yulia Samoylova — a wheelchair user — to perform 'Flame Is Burning'. Ukrainian authorities discover Samoylova had performed in Crimea in 2015 without Ukrainian government permission, technically violating Ukrainian border-entry law. Ukraine enforces a three-year ban on Samoylova entering. EBU offers alternatives: broadcast Samoylova via satellite link, or allow Russia to swap artists. Russia refuses both. Russia withdraws from Eurovision 2017. Context The 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea had created new Ukrainian border enforcement rules. Samoylova's 2015 Crimea performance had been unpermitted by Ukrainian authorities. Russia framed the ban as political targeting; Ukraine framed it as standard legal enforcement. The EBU's failed mediation attempt showed the limits of the organization's political neutrality mechanisms. Legacy Russia returned in 2018 and continued until the 2022 expulsion. The Samoylova card is now cited in Eurovision-and-international-law scholarship. Yulia Samoylova went on to represent Russia in 2018 (place 15). Her Kyiv ban is often read as the precursor to the 2022 definitive rupture.