Late in the evening on Sept. 20, Russia staged the Intervision contest, which Moscow proudly declared to be the heir to the musical events held irregularly since 1965 in the countries of the socialist bloc, with the participation of the U.S.S.R. Claiming someone else’s achievements is nothing new. But during wartime, a propaganda spectacle with the participation of the few who either dared or had no choice but to attend looked like a staged self-exposure rather than triumph. What can one say, when the winner of a contest in the land of “traditional values” turns out to be a young, openly gay Vietnamese man in a dress? Duc Phuc even bonded with the Belarusian entrant, Nastya Kravchenko, gifting her a Vietnamese hat with her portrait on it (though he gave similar gifts to every contestant).
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