At a Moscow concert hall, Shohruhmirzo Ganiyev is crooning about love and his motherland, Uzbekistan.
Put your legs together like a man, suggests his voice coach and choreographer. And spread your arms wider!
It's just a rehearsal, but Shohruhmirzo is singing his heart out. He's performing traditional Uzbek melodies to a modern beat and playing a doira, the ancient drum of Central Asia.
Uzbekistan is among 23 countries competing at the Intervision Song Contest.
It's Russia's answer to Eurovision. With less kitsch – and more Kremlin.
Intervision 2025 is Vladimir Putin's brainchild. He signed a decree reviving the Soviet-era songfest with the aim of developing international cultural and humanitarian co-operation.
The more obvious objective is creating an international song contest in which Moscow can actually take part. In 2022 Russia was banned from competing in Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A pattern's emerging.
When Team Russia was banned from the Olympic Games, Moscow tried to create alternatives, like the Games of the Future and the World Friendship Games.
Now the Kremlin's come up with its own version of Eurovision.
For Intervision, the Russians have cast their musical net far and wide, inviting allies from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The starting line-up reflects the political and economic alliances of which Russia is part, like the Brics group of nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The list of participating countries includes China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, Venezuela, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Madagascar: a very different musical map from Eurovision, and an opportunity for the Kremlin to show that, despite its invasion of Ukraine, Russia still has friends.
The United States, too, is taking part: a sign of the thaw in US-Russian relations since Donald Trump's return to the White House.
Representing Russia is Yaroslav Dronov, better known by his stage name Shaman. Last year the European Union sanctioned him for supporting actions and policies that undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
But Russia is using Intervision to project a softer image than the one forged by three-and-a-half years of its war in Ukraine.
My song tells about culture from Vietnam, Vietnamese entrant Duc Phuc informs me. I need to share the culture of Vietnam with everyone.
Intervision aims to promote the unique cultural traditions and collective achievements of participating countries, serving as a challenge to the West's cultural supremacy.
However, with no public vote and only a jury to determine winners, the event's excitement may hinge on its ability to resonate with a global audience against the backdrop of its geopolitical intentions.
