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Musician Manizha at the ESC rehearsals in Rotterdam: »It just doesn't work without humor«
Photo: PATRICK VAN EMST / AFP
The chunky, colorful dress seems to float across the stage with Manizha.
It is reminiscent of one of the national costumes in Russia.
Only her head and her hands look out of the massive frilly robe.
It slides to the left, to the right, turns, until the artist calls out in Russian: “What are you waiting for?
Get up and go! "
Hip-hop beats set in, Manizha opens the voluminous dress, steps out - and stands on stage in red workers' overalls.
"Every Russian woman should know you are strong enough, you will break through the wall," she sings, now in English, and dances to the rhythm of the music.
There are recordings from the rehearsals in Rotterdam.
The semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) will begin there on Tuesday - and Manizha has a good chance of making it to the final.
Her song is called "Russian Woman", a mix of fast pop and rap elements, heavy Russian folklore melodies and oriental tones, sung mainly in Russian.
Manizha calls her song a “manifesto for strong Russian women”, in which she denounces discrimination and calls for emancipation.
It has already been viewed more than ten million times on YouTube.
"You are already over 30, listen, where are the children?"
Line from Manizha's ESC song
The contribution stands out: in recent years Moscow had sent English-language pop songs, mostly love ballads, into the race, without any social or socio-political message.
Pleasant numbers, elaborately staged on the stage, which often scooped up points in the ESC world.
The music competition still has a certain cult status in Russia, the country is one of the most successful nations in Eurovision history.
And yet the conservatives in particular no longer feel comfortable in the ESC world.
Why is Russia taking part at all when travesty artists and singers are allowed to perform in crazy costumes, asks one in the Kremlin when asked about the contest.
And now, of all people, Manizha represents Russia, a 29-year-old Moscow woman, single, childless, born in Tajikistan, who is not afraid to open her mouth.
In ironic lines of text in the song "Russian Woman" she sings about the teachings that women still have to endure in Russia today:
"You are already over 30, listen, where are the children?"
Or:
"You are quite beautiful, but you should lose some weight."
With humor against hatred
Younger people and liberals in particular are enthusiastic, others angry. Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Federation Council and confidante of President Vladimir Putin, even doubted that everything was right in the preliminary round on the state broadcaster Perwy Kanal. Manizha had won it with the most votes from the audience. “Look at the lyrics of this song. This is total bullshit. I don't understand at all what that is about, "said the Putin confidante.
On the other hand, the singer explains: "I am happy for Ms. Matviyenko that she was not confronted with so much abuse and hatred in her life." Manizha smiles.
"She really is a happy woman".
It's April, a few weeks after the preliminary round.
In conversation with SPIEGEL, she often laughs.
It's a loud, happy laugh.
"It just doesn't work without humor," she says.
He often helped her in life, even now.
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Manizha in the studio
Photo: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
A wave of hatred fell over them after the ESC preliminary decision on the Internet, including racist comments.
"What a shame," or "Haven't you found a Russian woman?" Were the more harmless ones.
Manizha tells of the threats she received.
We'll cut you into pieces, she read, she shouldn't dare to sing.
Manizha speaks calmly about such attacks, says that she is afraid for her family and that she was about to quit.
But then she asked herself: How can I be an inspiration to young women when I withdraw?
She decided to avoid the internet as much as possible.
"I won't let myself be broken, I'll keep fighting to the end," she says.
“Hey, Russian woman. Don't be scared girl You are strong enough
You are strong enough
Don't be afraid, «
it says in her song.
It sounds like self-reassurance.
Singer and activist at the same time
Manizha was three years old when her parents fled to Moscow from the civil war in Tajikistan.
The parents split up, the mother, a nuclear physicist, keeps the five children and herself afloat with jobs as saleswoman and cleaning lady.
Manizha has been ashamed of her origins for many years.
In the kindergarten they abuse the others as "black ass", the teacher is silent.
It is Manizha's mother who talks to the children.
The kindergarten teacher is dismissed.
"My mother was my backbone - and I try to be it for others today," says Manizha.
Today she is Russia's first UN goodwill ambassador for refugee issues, and primarily looks after migrants from Central Asia.
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Manizha sees herself as the salt in the wounds of Russian society. She calls Russia's dealings with lesbians and gays "hypocritical".
She publicly shows solidarity with homosexuals and advocates women's rights. To this day, Russia has no law against domestic violence.
Manizha is a singer and activist at the same time.
Nevertheless, she prefers to avoid concrete political statements: "As a child who went through the war, I understand that you cannot influence everything."
Instagram artist
She feels free, says Manizha, because she alone determines what she publishes. Your most important marketing channel is Instagram. Video clips of her are viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube, they are opulent and often colorful, sometimes a bit crazy - own productions that no longer have anything to do with her musical beginnings. As a teenager she performed under stage names. Manizha sounded too Muslim and was bad for business, the producers said at the time.
It now fills large concert halls.
Her mother is at her side as a coach, designs her costumes, and she also tailored the massive ESC dress.
Last year, Forbes ranked Manizha among the most promising Russian artists under 30, and Adidas is their sponsor.
"Manizha has what a true artist should have: the desire to swim against the current," says the well-known director Kirill Serebrennikow, who has already worked with her.
He calls Manizha an "unbelievable talent with a lot of soul".
It gives a voice to those who represent a diverse Russia.
It is a different Russia than the country that is becoming more and more conservative under President Putin.
Seen in this light, it is a surprise that the state broadcaster Perwy Kanal sticks to her despite the hatred and criticism.
For her it is not important which place she will occupy in the end at the ESC, says Manizha.
Their participation in Rotterdam alone is a victory.
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The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast online on May 18th from 9pm.
Collaboration: Tatiana Chukhlomina
