“Pure disgrace”, “Scandal”, “W Poland Russophobia is blooming” – among others, such words were uttered in the Russian media after the performance of the French dance pair of figure skaters at the competition held in Warsaw. All because of the change of words in Boney M.'s song “Rasputin” – at the end of the song the words “Ah, those Russians” were replaced with “Ah, those dancers”. The whole matter is made even more interesting by the fact that it took place during the performance of naturalized Russian Evgenia Lopyriova, who, together with her partner Geoffrey Brissaud, has represented France since 2018. Łopyriowa and Brissaud won the prestigious competition in Warsaw in the pairs category.
“I would be ashamed to do that.” A Russian politician thunders about the events in Warsaw
Dmitry Svishchov, a member of the State Duma of Russia, commented on the whole confusion when he was asked about his reaction by a Match TV journalist.
– How can you react to stupidity? This is a stupid move. Yevgeniya got everything from Russia – her entire sports future. She grew up here. I would be ashamed to do that, said Svishchev. – But there are counselors who were afraid of something or someone unknown. They decided not to take any chances and deleted it. Well, change the music if you're so cool! No, they are removing this word on purpose. Play Ukrainian or French music. Change the music and there will be no problem. Take music that has nothing to do with Russia and have fun. Change your surname, name and remove everything related to Russia from your biography. But no. For some reason they behave this way, he complained.
Svishchev did not intend to blame the fact that the competition was held in Poland. – What difference does it make to us where it happens? If you are an athlete, you should not be ashamed of where you were born, who raised you, or what language you speak. You should be proud of this. Especially if you are already a top-class player. – he continued. – But the worst thing is that it's different. Unfortunately, athletes are simply afraid. They are intimidated. And this should not be ignored. Such things are unacceptable in modern society, he concluded.
Warsaw is the tenth of eleven “stops” of this year's Challenger Series. – Previously, the world's best competed in New York and Norwood (USA), Bergamo (Italy), Oberstdorf (Germany), Astana (Kazakhstan), Budapest (Hungary), Nice (France), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Tallinn (Estonia) – writes the Polish Figure Skating Association.