Russia is bringing back the Intervision Song Contest, a Soviet-era competition last held over four decades ago, under the orders of President Vladimir Putin. This revival is seen as a direct counter to the Eurovision Song Contest and aims to promote “traditional values.” The event is set to take place in Moscow later this year.
Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine. In response, Putin has initiated Intervision’s return, emphasizing the goal of fostering “international cultural and humanitarian cooperation.” Unlike Eurovision, which embraces diversity and LGBTQ+ representation, Intervision will focus on “universal, spiritual, and family values.” Russian senator Liliya Gumerova stated that the contest will showcase “authentic music” while rejecting “foreign influences incompatible with traditional norms.”
Originally established under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, Intervision was held between 1965 and 1968 in Czechoslovakia and later from 1977 to 1980 in Sopot, Poland, replacing the Sopot International Song Festival. It followed a Eurovision-like format, allowing Eastern Bloc countries to compete, with a jury selecting the winner. Although aligned with Soviet ideology, some Western countries, including the Netherlands and Spain, occasionally participated. Finland even won the last Intervision contest in 1980. However, political unrest and the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland led to its cancellation in 1981.
The Kremlin claims that nearly 20 countries have expressed interest in participating, including members of the BRICS and CIS blocs, such as China, India, and Brazil—nations that have not enforced sanctions against Russia. North Korea, which participates in its own Asiavision Song Contest, has yet to confirm its involvement.
Putin previously attempted to revive Intervision in 2014 after Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst’s Eurovision victory, which Russian officials condemned as evidence of Eurovision’s “moral decline.” Plans to host the contest in Sochi were announced but never realized. Now, after more than 40 years, Russia is determined to bring back Intervision, with the competition scheduled to take place in Moscow this autumn.