Verka Serduchka and Eurovision 2007 Controversy

The controversy had begun when Verka Serduchka was chosen to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 that took place in Helsinki, Finland. Many Ukrainians, including some members of the Ukrainian Parliament, disapproved the choice. A prominent Ukrainian radio station had held an action of protest. Verka Serduchka, a female comedy personality created by a male actor, was thought to be way too extravagant to be representing the country. Comments had been made that a "transvestite" had no business going to Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine.

The man behind Verka is Andrey Danilko, a comedian and pop singer born in 1973 in Poltava, Ukraine. He is not a transvestite, and neither he is gay; he is an entertainer. Andrey had created the character of Verka, a flashy full-breasted Ukrainian woman, in the early 1990s. Verka Serduchka was first introduced as a train conductor working at a sleeping car. She hosted a popular talk show called SV-Show, SV being an abbreviation for the Russian words "sleeping car." Her guests being mostly singers, Verka had decided to become a pop star herself, which she had successfully achieved, touring internationally and releasing several albums.

Obviously to set himself apart from most other male comedians who dress up as women, Andrey Danilko usually does not wear a wig. Instead, his character had started out sporting a large beret, under which "she" probably had a short haircut, and later on proceeded to wear showy, elaborate hats and head pieces. That and large, clearly fake "forms," as she calls them, have become Verka's trademark attributes.

Despite the displeasure of many Ukrainians, Verka went to Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with a song Dancing Lasha Tumbai and won the second place. The song, catchy although primitive, is sung in German, English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Mongolian. The words Lasha Tumbai, supposedly Mongolian for "whipped cream," had caused another controversy, the effect of which Danilko still suffers today: Russians heard the words as "Russia goodbye." Combined with the English part of the chorus, "I want to see Lasha Tumbai" - "I want to see Russia goodbye" - is not something Moscow would appreciate. The fact that representatives of the Mongolian embassy in Moscow had said that there was no such phrase as "lasha tumbai" in the Mongolian language does not help, either.

Dancing Lasha Tumbai was a big hit in Europe, no one seemed to mind that the lyrics made no sense - and nobody took any special notice of the questionable chorus. To Andrey's dismay though, the word "transvestite" had been used again: Europe perceived and welcomed him as such.

Andrey Danilko had stated several times that there was no "Russia goodbye" in the song. Nevertheless, the door to Russia had been closed for him for a while, both for touring and TV appearances. Serduchka's performance at a concert in Belarus was cut out when the program was shown on the Russian TV. It took some help from Alla Pugacheva, a Russian megastar, to bring Verka Serduchka back to Russia.

Verka Serduchka can be seen dancing tango with her creator, Andrey Danilko, here.