The lyrics of her song don't touch on Russia's annexation of Crimea, and Jamala insists there's no political subtext. But there's no doubt the lyrics are powerful. She starts the song in English, singing "when strangers are coming, they come to your house, they kill you all and say 'we're not guilty.'"
Russians believe anti-Russian sentiment in Europe swayed the vote. Their entry, Sergey Lazarev, had all the right ingredients for a Eurovision winner: a song with a thumping techno beat, a catchy refrain and a buff man in a tight shirt riding on an iceberg through space.
"This is a political contest, 100 percent," said Anastasia Bagayeva, who watched the contest from a Moscow restaurant. "This is not fair, but this is the current time."
Russian officials also cried foul. Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said bitterly in a Facebook post that next year's winning Eurovision song needs to be about Assad.