Ukraine song mourns Moscow deportation of Crimean Tatars

A Crimean Tatar who sings about Joseph Stalin’s deportation of hundreds of thousands of people from her Black Sea homeland will represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, two years after Russia annexed the territory.
Jamala, a 32-year-old singer, won a domestic competition on Sunday night to represent her country.
After she finished her song 1944 – the year of the mass deportation of Tatars from the Crimean peninsula – Jamala and one of the judges on the panel struggled to hold back tears as they talked about Russia’s annexation of Crimea 70 years later.
Russia also participates in Eurovision, and Jamala’s presence at this year’s final in Stockholm in May could add a political edge to a competition better known as an annual celebration of kitsch.
Jamala’s victory came on what was already an emotionally charged weekend in Ukraine, which was commemorating more than 100 protesters who were killed over two days during the Maidan protests in 2014 that dislodged a pro-Russian president.
In a sign of simmering anger against Russia, protesters also smashed up two branches of Russian-owned banks in downtown Kiev.

While her choice of subject might seem unlikely, Jamala said that...