Nastia, hold on!
“All accusations of racism, nationalism, and other isms are slander”
Many Russian mass media report that some statements made by Anastasia Prykhodko, a Ukrainian singer who will represent Russia at the Eurovision-2009, during her participation in the project Fabrika zvezd-7 (Star Factory-7) may be viewed as “nationalist” and even “racist.” A new round of the scandal soon ensued, reaching even the State Duma, where Igor Lebedev, Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s son and the head of the LDPR faction, spoke with anger about the singer, reports Komsomolskaya Pravda.
“It would be an understatement to say that I’m shocked. I was ready that people would discuss me and my song Mom, as well as my voice and appearance. After all, I was ready for a reaction different than compliments. But what I am reading now in the newspapers and on the Internet is a shock to me,” said Anastasia PRYKHODKO.
“How can they accuse me of fascism, when my grandfather, Mykhailo Prykhodko, was fighting during Word War II, was decorated with the medal For the Capture of Berlin, and left his signature on a Reichstag wall? Russian mass media accuse me of nationalism, but this is absurd. My family is multinational: my father is Russian, my mother is Ukrainian, and my great great grandfather was Japanese. There are so many nationalities mixed in my family tree that to say anything against any nation means offending my own family as well.”
Prykhodko said that she was happy to win in the selection competition of the Russian Eurovision. She is sure that the decision of the audience and the jury is proof of the proximity of the Russian and Ukrainian nations. “Some people might not like this very much. This can be the only explanation for the slander against me,” the singer said.
In the final of the Russian selection competition that took place on the night of March 8, 25 percent of the audience and six out of 11 professional jurors voted for Prykhodko, who performed with her song Mom. The other finalists were singer Valeria and the band Kvatro, who earned 14 and 12 percent of votes, correspondingly. After this the jury determined who the leader was, and it was Prykhodko.
In his interview to the RIA Novosti news agency producer and composer Kostiantin Meladze said, “The fact that Nastia was called racist in the press is absolute nonsense. Prykhodko is an absolutely civilized and normal person, and the row surrounding her is fueled by people who are not satisfied with the victory of a Ukrainian singer in the selection round of Eurovision.”
Producer Olena Mozhova said to The Day, “A hailstorm of negative information that has gushed from newspapers, television, and radio, and has been multiplied on Internet websites is a well-engineered action of the singer’s ill-wishers. Many Russian jingoists cannot come to terms with the fact that a Ukrainian, rather than Russian, singer has won in their national selection round, and a Ukrainian song will be performed at Eurovision-2009 in Moscow.
“All accusations of racism, nationalism, and other isms are slander. This entire hullabaloo is dirty PR-technology aimed at upsetting Nastia, while she has to prepare well for the competition. According to the official statement of Prykhodko and Meladze, the singer and her producer decided not to allow themselves to be led by some mass media, not to offer justifications, but to work more and more. Now they have a lot on their plate now: they must rehearse the number, make recordings and a music video, design the costumes for the performance, etc. According to an Oriental proverb, a dog barks, but the caravan goes on.”
Under the current psychological pressure on her, Prykhodko crucially needs the support of her relatives, friends, and us, her compatriots. Nastia, you have already proven that you are a fighter. Hold on! We wish you success at the competition.
