by Rex Wockner
Ukrainian nationalists are protesting the nation's official entry in the Eurovision Song Contest – a single by drag queen Verka Serdyuchka.
They demonstrated in several cities April 1, calling for Ukraine to withdraw from the wildly popular pan-European extravaganza.
Serdyuchka lampoons rural Ukrainian women. Although sometimes vulgar, she is a cult icon with a diverse fan base. Her selection by public vote as Ukraine's Eurovision entry was a landslide.
Serdyuchka also is popular elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.
