Some Russians upset that bearded cross-dresser won Eurovision contest

[Larry1]

I had never heard of Eurovision until I came to the FSUW forums, and I still don't know much about it.  From what I can tell it seems to be a singing contest in which singers from various European countries compete.  This year a bearded cross-dresser from Austria won the contest.  I'm not joking.  You can see his photo at the link below, wearing a dress and sporting a full beard.  You might ask, "what does this have to do with FSU?"   Well, this person's win is drawing a good many reactions from Russians, including this campaign described in the headline of an article:

Some Russians are so angry Conchita Wurst won Eurovision, they are shaving their beards in protest

http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/12/some-russians-are-so-angry-conchita-wurst-won-eurovision-they-are-shaving-their-beards-in-protest-4725123/

Here is some more reaction, from Russian office-holders:

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, tweeted that the Eurovision result “showed supporters of European integration their European future: a bearded girl.”

According to TheJournal.ie, another Russian politician, the ultranationalist leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, told Rossiya-1 state television:

“There’s no limit to our outrage. It’s the end of Europe. It has turned wild. They don’t have men and women any more. They have ‘it’. Fifty years ago the Soviet army occupied Austria. We made a mistake in freeing Austria. We should have stayed.” www.thejournal.ie/conchita-wurst-russia-1459367-May2014/
 

http://www.bubblews.com/news/3333574-russian-and-international-reaction-to-the-eurovision-2014-winner-conchita-wurst

There are some pretty funny reactions on Russian social media here:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/russians-are-shaving-their-beards-in-reaction-to-conchita-wu

[BillyB]

My wife follows Eurovision and thinks Conchita has a good voice.

[Slumba]

Isn't "wurst" a German word referring to a particular kind of sausage? 

[Larry1]

Isn't "wurst" a German word referring to a particular kind of sausage? 

I think it's a general word for sausage.

My wife follows Eurovision and thinks Conchita has a good voice.

I have listened to only one performance, but I like this one that features several Polish girls:



I think two of the Polish girls are featured in this photo, alongside the Wurst fellow.  It's linked to, and translated, in my original post.

[lordtiberius]

Russia beat us in the hockey championship. Who cares?

More win wins and EU-US terrorism, I guess

[stilllooking]

Not sure how to explain Eurovision to an American....

oops, there is a simple way: Imagine there being one huge x-factor show at the end of the year with all the winners from all the different countries present. It is shown simultaneously in all the countries, and people are not allowed to vote on the contestant from their country.

Main difference is there is no criticism allowed, and of course, like the Olympics and the world cup and the SB, the contest will always be better than all previous ones. As you can not vote for your own country it is also expected you vote with for a neighboring country or a country you share the same language with.

Much like the x-factor, after the single that wins becomes a hit the next one rolls around and people forget who won the previous one (though with the early versions thats not entirely true as for example it was the launching platform for Abba)

[SANDRO43]

I think it's a general word for sausage.

Yes, usually with more specific designations like Weisswurst (the white sausage from Bavaria), etc. German sausages fall under 4 main categories (http://www.germanfoodguide.com/wurstcategory.cfm):

1. Rohwurst  (fresh, raw sausages)
2. Kochwurst (cooked sausages: Leberwurst, Sülzewurst, Blutwurst)
3. Brühwurst (boiled, scalded sausages)
4. Bratwurst (usually to be grilled or pan fried, and sometimes cooked in broth or beer)

And you also have the Würstel, the small sausage .

[Slumba]

Yes, usually with more specific designations like Weisswurst (the white sausage from Bavaria), etc. German sausages fall under 4 main categories (http://www.germanfoodguide.com/wurstcategory.cfm):

1. Rohwurst  (fresh, raw sausages)
2. Kochwurst (cooked sausages: Leberwurst, Sülzewurst, Blutwurst)
3. Brühwurst (boiled, scalded sausages)
4. Bratwurst (usually to be grilled or pan fried, and sometimes cooked in broth or beer)

And you also have the Würstel, the small sausage .

My personal view is that this Conchita person, is the wurst of all! 

[ghost of moon goddess]

 

[Manny]

The Metro is a pretty ropey source Larry. Its a Manchester paper they give out for free on public transport.

[Larry1]

The Metro is a pretty ropey source Larry. Its a Manchester paper they give out for free on public transport.

I had never even heard of it before seeing that article.  I found the article through a link on another site.  I had read about Dimitri Rogozen's comment on a reputable site, but I was too lazy to find it again for the thread.  And the stuff on twitter was really the fun part.  Well, that plus the Polish milkmaid in the video.

[Larry1]

oops, there is a simple way: Imagine there being one huge x-factor show at the end of the year with all the winners from all the different countries present. It is shown simultaneously in all the countries, and people are not allowed to vote on the contestant from their country.

Main difference is there is no criticism allowed, and of course, like the Olympics and the world cup and the SB, the contest will always be better than all previous ones. As you can not vote for your own country it is also expected you vote with for a neighboring country or a country you share the same language with.

Thanks for the rundown.  Something I read about the contest makes sense now. A news report said that Crimeans were considered Ukrainians for purposes of voting because they still had Ukrainian telephone area codes.  I wondered why the contest cared which country people called from.  Now I know why.

Here is another reaction to the contest:

A Russian politician breaks into song during a parliamentary session to protest against Austria's Conchita Wurst winning the European song contest. MP Oleg Nilov sings a verse from a Russian folk song, featuring the lyrics 'Black raven, why are you circling, above my head?'. He says 'dark forces' prevented Russia's entry, the 17-year-old Tolmachevy twins, from winning the contest

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/may/14/russian-mp-sings-protest-austria-conchita-wurst-eurovision-video

If anyone is interested here are the Tolmachevy twins: