After an internal selection, it has now been revealed that the group Galasy Zmesta has been selected to represent the nation at Eurovision this year. They will be singing Ya Nauchu Tebya (I’ll Teach You) in Rotterdam, and it will be the first Russian language song to be representing Belarus.
Belarus more commonly uses a public selection to select their act, and this was the first time since 2011 that the nation selected internally. There was an open call for songs, with around 50 songs submitted to the broadcaster, including from Zena, Kazna and Chakras among others.
Despite only just being released, the song has already garnered a negative response due to the group openly showing support for President Alexander Lukashenko, who has faced widespread allegations of vote-rigging in the most recent presidential election. As a result, mass protests have occurred across the nation after the 2020 election. Their Eurovision entry has been criticised for mocking this pro-democracy movement.
Listen to the song below: