Critics call Belarusian song pro-Lukashenko

The ongoing political crisis in Belarus has spread to this year's Eurovision Song Contest, with the country's entry in the 2021 competition on the verge of disqualification over its controversial song choice.

Following mounting pressure from European lawmakers and other critics, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced this week that Belarusian band Galasy ZMesta will not be allowed to take part in the popular event in Rotterdam in late May unless it modifies or withdraws its controversial Russian-language song, "Ya Nauchu Tebya" ("I'll Teach You").

The song, which features lyrics like "I'll teach you to toe the line" and "I'll teach you to swallow the bait," has drawn a backlash from opposition figures. The band is known for mocking the mass protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, which have been met with a violent crackdown since the disputed presidential election in August 2020. Rights groups have said more than 33,000 people have been detained in the protests.

"It was concluded that the song puts the non-political nature of the Contest in question," the EBU said in a statement on Thursday. "In addition, recent reactions to the proposed entry risk bringing the reputation of the ESC into disrepute."

'Vilifying the opposition' and the West

At first glance, the lyrics — set to '80s style guitar, drums and tambourine backing music — don't seem overtly political. Some have said the words allude to a playful BDSM relationship.

Most critics, however, have said the song derides the opposition movement, its ongoing protests and the West, which the Lukashenko government has accused of orchestrating the demonstrations. Satirizing opposition demands, band leader Dmitry Butakov sings: "The free world cannot be stopped/the unfashionable, unworthy reactionary must go."

In recent days, the song had received some 5,800 likes — and more than 40,000 dislikes and angry comments — on the ESC official YouTube page, with more than half a million views. It has since been taken down from the site.

"It was expected, understandable," Butakov told news agency Reuters. "I think our song is compliant. It's them who think it is not." Belarus' state broadcaster has so far not commented on the song or the ESC decision to disqualify it from the competition.

"I have the impression they are vilifying the opposition," said ESC expert Irving Wolther. "The band's lyrics can certainly be read this way, particularly because the group has disparaged and mocked the opposition in the past." He is certain the song is aimed at Belarusian listeners, given it will hardly appeal to Europeans.

Many of the band's other songs also mock the opposition, and the Western lifestyle in general, confirming that their political outlook is firmly pro-Lukashenko. The group — consisting of former cabaret artists from the city of Baranovichi — was founded in spring 2020. 

On the band's website, the musicians write they "were inspired by the election and the madness that followed." One of their tunes, "A Wife's Song," ridicules leading opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in neighboring Lithuania. "Flutist," in turn, pokes fun at jailed opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova. In other songs, Galasy ZMesta make fun of homosexual couples and vegetarians, among others.

The band's sympathies for Lukashenko are further hinted at in the band logo, which consists of red and green lettering — a possible allusion to the state flag in the same colors. The group even features these colors in its videos. Supporters of the Belarus opposition, in contrast, have adopted a white-and-red flag.

ESC has a history of controversy

This isn't the first time countries have sought to use the ESC to convey political messages. In 2009, Georgia — another former Soviet republic — submitted a song called "We Don't Wanna Put In" to the competition. Many interpreted the title as a critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeing an allusion to the five-day war between Georgia and Russia in 2008. When the ESC called on Georgia to rename or replace the song, Tbilisi refused and the band was excluded from the competition.

In 2015, Armenia submitted "Don't Deny," a subtle allusion to Armenian mass deportations and killings by the former Ottoman Empire. ESC competitors Turkey and Azerbaijan took umbrage; competition organizers viewed the song choice as politically charged, yet accepted it nonetheless. Armenia, in a bid to deescalate tensions, later changed the title to "Face the Shadow."

In 2016, Ukraine's Jamala performed "1944," a song that tells the story of how Crimea's Tatars were deported under the Soviet regime. Some saw political parallels to Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and the song and Jamala's dramatic performance hit a nerve in Europe. It would go on to be the 2016 winner.

This article has been adapted from German.