‘I won’t allow myself to be broken’: Russia’s Eurovision candidate Manizha takes on ‘the haters’

The singer's fight against domestic violence and homophobia and her body-positive posts on Instagram have led to a torrent of abuse - some from very powerful people

Russia's 2021 Eurovision candidate breezes into a conference room, Channel One documentary film crew in tow, offering a simple tea of mint leaves brewed in hot water. On days like today, I want something calming," Manizha says, pouring two cups, as a boom mic hovers over us. No pressure.

The Tajikistan-born singer, who will perform her feminist ballad Russian Woman next month at the much-loved, much-mocked song contest in Rotterdam, is the target of a fiery conservative backlash for her foreign roots and her lyrics attacking female stereotypes.