Verka Serduchka and Ukrainian National Identity at Eurovision 2007

This video is a recording of Verka Serdiuchka’s representation of Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song “Dancing Lasha Tumbai.” Verka Serdiuchka is a drag persona performed by a male Ukrainian comedian, actor and singer Andriy Danylko. The character of Serdiuchka embodies a unique cultural archetype: a strong yet simple post-Soviet woman with Ukrainian rural origins. This is usually reflected in the lyrics, her costume designs and her use of “Surzhyk,” a mixed language combining Ukrainian and Russian elements. Danylko’s persona is often labelled as a ‘jester’, both by nationalist-leaning audiences and in some academic circles (Yekelchyk 2010). Some others refer to it as ‘drinking songs’ with heavy use of folk motives and sometimes call it ‘disco polo’ (Kaszuba & Svetlova 2022), while others prefer naming it postcolonial ‘kitsch’ performance (Gundorova 2013). However, some researchers suggest considering Serdiuchka a ‘camp’ artist (Miazhevich 2012; Morris & Goscilo 2010). The latter assumption deserves a closer look as it provides curios decolonial interpretations.

Camp is a style that has primarily emerged in LGBTQ+ community, yet gained broader recognition after appropriation and depoliticization by popular culture thanks to Susan Sontag’s piece “Notes on ‘Camp’” (Mayer 1994). She writes that camp can be mistaken for kitsch as they both mimic high culture and share ‘lack of taste’ (Sontag 1964). Meanwhile, what makes aesthetics of camp distinguishable and enjoyable is absurdity, exaggeration and irony (ibid). Mayer (1994; 5) suggests that “camp can be read as a critique of ideology through a parody that is always already appropriated.” Therefore, the first and foremost thing that suggests Verka’s belonging to camp is cross-dressing. A short dress, vulgar behaviour, and exaggeratedly large breasts, as depicted in Verka’s Eurovision performance, on one hand, perpetuate stereotypes about the perceived sexual availability and promiscuity of Eastern European women. On the other hand, knowledge of the artist’s “true” male self erodes conventional understanding of gender and can be read as “mockery and an ironic protest against sexual colonisation” by the West (Miazhevich 2012; 1514). Some have even described Serduchka’s performance as “asexual,” suggesting that, despite the flamboyant appearance, it subverts traditional Barbie-style femininity stereotypes (Gundorova 2013; 535).

Serdiuchka does not merely exploit stereotypical colonial imagery of Ukraine; instead, she offers a tongue-in-cheek perspective that makes her performance distinctly camp. In the video material in question, she wears an outfit that differs from her usual stage attire. Rather than wearing an embroidered shirt (vyshyvanka), she appears in a futuristic short dress with “Serdiuchka 69” emblazoned on her back, which hints to ‘bad post-Soviet taste’, referencing the tracksuits commonly associated with stereotypical post-Soviet men. Despite this playful critique, Serdiuchka’s persona does not merely mock or look down on the marginal. Instead, Andriy Danylko, the creator of Verka, identifies with this cultural layer (Gundorova 2013; 511-544). Verka is balancing between self-awareness, critical outlook, and pride in her identity, which is what makes her so appealing to the domestic audience. 

Moreover, the Eurovision performance sends out interesting messages to international viewers, too. This time, on top of the Surzhyk that fans are used to, Danylko’s Verka adds German and English: “Hello everybody, my name is Verka Serduchka, me English nicht verstehen. Let’s speak dance.” Thus, the artist immediately showcases a “lack of intelligence,” which is commonly associated with poverty, an “uncivilized” village low culture. Plus, the use of German highlights the lingering influence of cultural legacies from the Soviet era in Ukraine. This has been widely criticized by domestic audience (Zhurzhenko 2008; 229-230). Rather than symbolizing a break from the country’s Soviet past and emphasizing a desire to join the EU, Serdiuchka’s persona is largely built on post-Soviet sentiments (ibid). And yet, the message has been appreciated in Europe — Serdiuchka’s song secured second place in the contest. European craving for unexplored exoticism was satisfied by Verka, who presents a portrayal of a pristine, timeless village culture, seemingly untouched by progress and ‘civilization’ (Kaszuba & Svetlova 2022; 205-208). However, Serdiuchka seems fully aware of this tension — the blend of futuristic silver costumes with simplistic lyrics and a village-style beat reveals Ukraine’s complex position between East and West, making it, once again, a perfect example of a critical camp. While ‘self-exoticism’ for the West might be taking place here, the same way it did in Ruslana’s Eurovision performance (Baker 2008), the outcome is undoubtedly appealing to the domestic audience, too.

Yet, as Morris and Goscilo (2010; 208) notice in their study of Verka Serdiuchka, for camp performance to endure unfriendly contexts, its critical homosexual origins are often intentionally hidden or erased. This is to suggest that the critical and/or decolonial message, even if it was intended, was not grasped by the audience. As Gundorova (2013; 544) highlights, at this point it is difficult to differentiate “her” from “us,” difficult to know what is a parody and what is sincere.

To conclude, Verka’s Eurovision performance offers valuable material for analyzing postcolonial dynamics at Eurovision, Ukraine’s national identity-building process, and the marketing of postcolonial exoticism.

Literature:

1. Baker, C. (2008). Wild Dances and Dying Wolves: Simulation, Essentialization, and National Identity at the Eurovision Song Contest, Popular Communication, 6:3,173-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15405700802198113 
2. Kaszuba, D. & Svetlova, A. (2022). Performing musical personae. Verka Serduchka and Slawomir as examples of critical dance music, Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 30:2, 201-215, DOI: 10.1080/25739638.2022.2089389
3. Sontag, S. (1964). Notes on “Camp.” Penguin Books.
4. Mayer, M. (1994). ‘Reclaiming the Discourse of Camp’, In: M. Mayer (ed.) The Politics and Poetics of Camp, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 1-22.
5. Zhurzhenko, T. (2008). Gendernye rynki Ukrainy: politicheskaia ekonomiia natsionalnogo stroitelstva (Gendered Markets of Ukraine: political economy of nation building). Vilnius : EGU.
6. Miazhevich, G. (2012). Ukrainian Nation Branding Off-line and Online: Verka Serduchka at the Eurovision Song Contest. Europe-Asia Studies, 64:8, 1505-1523, DOI:10.1080/09668136.2012.712274
7. Morris, J., & Goscilo, H. (Ed.) (2010). Elevating Verka Serdiuchka: A Star-Study in Excess Performativity. In Celebrity and Glamour in Contemporary Russia: Shocking Chic (pp. 195-218). Routledge.
8. Yekelchyk, S. (2010). What Is Ukrainian about Ukraine’s Pop Culture?: The Strange Case of Verka Serduchka. Canadian-American Slavic Studies, 44(1-2), 217–232. https://doi.org/10.1163/221023910×51287 
9. Gundorova, T.(2013).Simptomi postkolonіalnoi travmi: esei. — K.: Granі-T, 2013.

Author of the reflection: Mariia Dubykivska, IUFU Student

Reviewing and editing: Denys Tereshchenko

Sourse: Eurovision Song Contest, Youtube