A sign of things to come at the Eurovision finals in Russia this May:
Several dozen activists staged a noisy protest Monday to condemn Georgia's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, which they described as an insult to Russia and its prime minister Vladimir Putin.
Young Russia, a pro-Kremlin youth group, organised the rally near the closed Georgian Embassy in Moscow against "We Don't Wanna Put In," which Georgia has chosen as its entry to Eurovision, to be held in Moscow in May.
"This song does not just insult Putin, it insults the whole Russian people," Maxim Mishchenko, leader of Young Russia and a member of the Russian parliament, said on the sidelines of the protest.
"I think that you shouldn't take a non-political contest and turn it into a political show to insult your opponents," he added.
The disco-style song by Georgian group Stephane and 3G, sung in English, has the chorus "We don't wanna put in/The negative move/It's killin' the groove," which many believe plays on Putin's surname.
Young Russia, a pro-Kremlin youth group, organised the rally near the closed Georgian Embassy in Moscow against "We Don't Wanna Put In," which Georgia has chosen as its entry to Eurovision, to be held in Moscow in May.
"This song does not just insult Putin, it insults the whole Russian people," Maxim Mishchenko, leader of Young Russia and a member of the Russian parliament, said on the sidelines of the protest.
"I think that you shouldn't take a non-political contest and turn it into a political show to insult your opponents," he added.
The disco-style song by Georgian group Stephane and 3G, sung in English, has the chorus "We don't wanna put in/The negative move/It's killin' the groove," which many believe plays on Putin's surname.