nation

The aging of its population is about to leave Japan without a key element for the nation: pants

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Japan has entered a unprecedented demographic phase for an advanced economy: retirement mass of the generation that supported its industry coincides with a young one that is too small (and unwilling) to occupy the jobs that this economy requires to continue functioning. On paper, global demand for certain domestically manufactured goods has never been higher, but in the engine room, those who know how to produce them are aging without substitutes. Fabric turned into luxury. He japanese denimslowly woven, dense and dyed with natural indigo in repeated cycles, enjoys a moment of consecration worldwide: Dior, Balenciaga and other luxury houses incorporate it, celebrities exhibit it, the market projects grow more than 85% until 2035 and tourism (supported by a weak yen) triple sales in Kojima’s “Jeans Street.” For an industry that had been hollowed out by decades of cheap imports, the return of demand is not marginal but cultural: the value resides in the texturethe way indigo ages and in that kind of aura of exclusivity that results from real and not cosmetic scarcity. In fact, brands with Japanese only website and without direct export they increase that breath of rarity and price. Without a job when it is most demanded. The apogee has arrived when the productive base collapses: There are barely fifty artisans left in the founding heart of the japanese selvedgethe average age is close to seventy, and apprentices last months before giving up due to noise, heat, grease, discipline and slowness. Bloomberg counted that the skill curve is not linear: it takes six months to five years to operate the loom and up to a decade to maintain and repair it. With the master generation entering retirement and entrepreneurs without time to transmit the trade, continuity is broken by calendar, not by market. Ancient technology. The shuttle looms of the early 20th century (now relics) allow continuous edging what gives the “selvedge” and the density of the weave that produces an unmistakable drape, feel and aging in the fabric. Japan came to have 300,000 machines of this type. The problem? Today there are less than 400 operationsa lower third a single signature. To maintain them you have to remove pieces of other machines already stopped and work at a pace that doesn’t fit with today’s industry. They cannot be replaced by automation without losing exactly what the customer pays for: a finish that only time gives on a slow-made fabric. What is authentic is paid for. Plus: the one who pays For this denim you are not looking just for the feel, but for a product that takes time to make, that ages well and does not depend on the rapid rotation of fashion. In other words, this preference fits with the rejection of fast-fashion and a turn towards objects designed to last. The signs are many and clear: Levi’s sells “Blue Tab” lines for twice the price of a normal 501, Capital places jeans worth several hundred or thousands of dollars, and funds linked to the almighty LVMH they invest in Kojima brands. The problem of aging. Japan is getting older faster than there is time to teach the trade. The factories have plenty of orders, but they cannot get hire or train substitutes. The owners travel and manage, but they do not have hours to teach, and the machines will be lost due to lack of parts and hands that know how to maintain them. If the drift continues like this, the problem will not be a lack of demand but capacity: in about ten years (according to own manufacturers) this type of product will no longer be able to be made because neither the technicians nor the machines will be able to work. There are no shortcuts. The final paradox is that the boom of the sector It doesn’t seem like it’s going to save the job, rather it accelerate towards the limit: The more demand grows, the more it squeezes the few remaining hands and the less time there is to teach others. Thus, the world Japanese denim is faced with a disturbing choice: slow down the pace to transmit the trade (even if that means losing sales in the short term) or exploit the latest generation until it is exhausted, knowing that this would leave a product that will possibly disappear, not due to lack of market, but because no one will be able to do it anymore. Image | PxHere, Liface In Xataka | That Japan has 100,000 people over 100 years old explains a problem: they are literally running out of drivers. In Xataka | Japan’s aging has hit rock bottom with a devastating fact: more and more elderly people want to live in prison

The US has reached a dead end. To rearm to China’s threat, he needs the help of a nation: China

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What began Like a secret In the army he has jumped to the first flat of the nation: the pentagon has reacted afternoon and bad To the revolution of the drones. While Ukraine and Russia integrate at dizzying rhythm Cheap, disposable and effective platforms, and China You don’t know what to do With as many drones, Washington is entangled in procedures, inherited priorities and a culture of acquisitions that treats drones as “new airplanes” and not as low cost ammunition and mass production. In the background, a dead end: to anticipate the Chinese threat need … China. Revolution. The contemporary battlefield has been marked by a CStructural Ambio: Cheap, mass and disposable drones have become the decisive asymmetric weapon, capable of altering the balance of power between large and small powers. Ukraine, with one constant creativity And an incessant flow of adaptations, has shown that an army with limited resources can neutralize armored, strategic airplanes and russian logistics lines by swarms of short and medium reach drones. And delay. Meanwhile, the Pentagon, despite publicly recognizing the threat, maintains A dangerous delay. The statement of General James Mingus, who compared the current drones with the devastating impact of the improvised explosive artifacts in Iraq, Synthesizes the dilemma: This is the “FDE today”, a transformative weapon against which the United States has not yet reacted with the necessary urgency. Strategic blindness. They tell The analysts of the country that history is repeated. During the years of the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of soldiers died while the Department of Defense delayed the adoption of the Mrap vehiclesarmored designed for Resist FDIuntil the pressure of Robert Gates He broke the internal resistances. Today, the same pattern It is observed with drones. The rigid structure of the pentagon, obsessed with large programs as the F-35strategic submarines or The Sentinel missilesmarginalizes the cheap and fast solutions that make a difference in the field. There is talk of initiatives such as The Replicator program or of record budgets for research in autonomous weapons, but the reality is that, in front of the millions of drones that China could produce and the monthly thousands that Russia already displays, the United States barely has prototypes and promises. Presentation of Lucas, the Made in USA copy of the Shaheds, or almost The awkward mirror: the Shahed. We have gone counting. The weapon that best reflects that gap is The Shahed-136renamed Geran by Russia. Born as an Iranian clone of Israeli designs, it has become the most influential mercupy ammunition of the 21st century. With an approximate cost of $ 50,000, A autonomy of up to 1,600 kilometers and the ability to carry loads of 20 to 40 kilos, combines simplicity with strategic efficacy. In Russian hands, it already occurs at an industrial scale And it has been perfected with more range variants, better tight sensors and loads. Faced with the millions of cruise missile, Shahed is the pure expression of the war economy: cheap, abundant and devastating. The fact that the United States does not have an equivalent produced by mass constitutes a Strategic negligence symptom. The double error. On the one hand, the Pentagon has ignored the need to adopt massively short -range dronesof the FPV type, which in Ukraine have become the Common soldier weaponcapable of extending the scope of an infantry squad from 800 meters to more than 12 kilometers. On the other, it has dismissed for years the importance of long -range ammunition low costentrusting in expensive and limited missile arsenals. This double error points to a mentality anchored in past warsunable to accept that innovation does not reside in the exquisite, but in the numerous. The US army still does not have formations dedicated to drones, or new military specialties focused on them. The doctrine barely begins to adapt and pilot programs advance at a ridiculous speed compared to the rhythm of Ukrainian innovation. Russian Shaheds Factory China and recover lost time. The proposal of the most realistic analysts It is clear: United States needs, without delay, standardize Two drone designs long -range kamikaze. The first, about 1,600 km, cheap and massive, would serve both in Europe and in the First Pacific Islands chain. The second, more than 3,000 km, would be crucial to, for example, hit from the second island chain to the interior of China, even after the establishment of Bubble A2/AD. Both, complemented with variations in useful loads and guidance systems, would guarantee tactical flexibility and a deterrent volume. Without this capacity, the United States would enter any greater conflict with a ridiculously insufficient arsenal against tens of thousands of enemy threats. The logic of wear. The value of these weapons does not only reside in their destructive capacity. His strength lies in the economic equation: they force the adversary to spend millions in interceptors for each device which costs just tens of thousands. The “effector depletion” thus becomes a strategic weapon: saturate enemy defenses until their missile arsenals and force them to cover a spectrum of threats impossible to handle. Even a drone that never reaches its objective fulfills its function to the Force the enemy to shoot. Ukraine lo has demonstrated by forcing Russia to disperse anti -aircraft defenses against improvised swarms; The same logic, multiplied by tens of thousands of units, could turn the balance against China or Russia. The Chinese problem. The underlying problem is industrial disability. And here comes one of the paradoxes of the situation: the United States depends almost completely on the nation of which he intends to defend himself. And is that It depends on China for everythingfrom batteries to basic motors and materials. Its acquisition structure, designed for the slow rhythms of the cold war, is not prepared to produce quickly and decentralized. While the adversary itera versions in weeks, the Pentagon takes years to approve contracts. The solution: analysts aim to diversify production between dozens of medium and small companies, under a framework of standardized designs owned by the … Read more

Mexico had its own Alcatraz 130 km from the country. Fortified islands housed the most dangerous murderers of the nation

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In December we rescue A true story which possibly served Michael Bay for his film ‘La Roca’, set in Alcatraz prison. Actually, it wasn’t so impregnablebut the jail (now converted into a tourist visiting space) has become notic again because Trump considers The idea of ​​recovering it as “home” for the most dangerous criminals in the United States. The truth is that, before Alcatraz, Mexico already had such a prison. From prison to sanctuary. For more than a century, The Marias Islands They represented the confinement, exile and hardness of the Mexican Penitentiary System. A story that changed from the definitive closure of its prison in 2019, when the remote archipelago in the Pacific began a surprising and unexpected transformation towards ecotourism and environmental conservation. Located about 130 kilometers from the coast of Nayarit, the four islands, and in particular Mary Motherthey went from being the last Insular Criminal Colony from America to become a Biosphere Reserve managed by the Mexican Navy. In 2022 the visits organized for tourists began under strong security measures and with limited routes, where visitors can travel both the wild nature and the historical traces of a prison past plagued with dark stories. Penitentiary facilities still visible (such as cells, surveillance towers and a maximum security module) are now combined with hotels, trails, lush vegetation and endemic species that have survived thanks to isolation for millions of years. Violence, punishment and resistance. Founded as Prison in 1905the Marías Islands housed many of the more dangerous criminals of the country, together with political dissidents, poor peasants and religious leaders during different historical stages. There were also opponents of the Government of Álvaro Obregón, Catholics in the time of the Cristero Warand figures Like the writer José Revueltassymbol of intellectual dissent. The prison regime varied over time, since semi -liberated modalities in which some inmates lived with their families, even closed structures such as Maximum security section Open in 2011 after the militarization of the criminal system during the war against the narco. In these facilities, described as replicas of American prisons, prisoners lived with extreme punishments, such as the existence of a metal cabin that functioned as a solar heat torture chamber. In fact, The BBC counted that rumors of undercover executions and clandestine burials are still persists in the other islands of the archipelago, occasionally frequented by illegal and drug traffickers. Overpopulation During the last decades of operation as prison, serious overpopulation episodes were experienced, particularly notorious in the 2000s. The angels Times counted and testimonies collected by Mexican media Like the universal and Processat some times they came to live More than 8,000 inmates In precarious conditions, in facilities originally designed to house much less. An especially shocking example was reported by a former inmate who, in 2022, recalled that 500 women They shared only five bathroomssituation that described how to live in a “chicken coop.” Although as we said, in the beginning the prison had a relatively open regime (even allowed some inmates to live with their families), the hardening of the penitentiary policy after the War against drug trafficking In 2006 and the opening of the maximum security module aggravated overcrowding. Complaints of insufficient rations and lack of medical care derived even in A riot in 2013after which the module closed. The combination of structural deterioration, lack of resources and social pressure ended up leading to definitive closure of the prison in 2019. Biodiversity Then came the “second life” of the islands. Despite its gloomy legacy, the natural wealth of the archipelago has survived and even flourished. Since 2010, when the prison still worked, UNESCO recognized the Marias Islands as a biosphere reserve for its unique ecosystem, composed of dry forests, mangroves, coral reef, coasts and endemic fauna such as the Loro Tres MaríasMapaches and rabbits that do not exist anywhere else on the planet. Many of these species suffered during the penitentiary period (they say Some inmates hunted snakes to make belts or trafficked parrots with the help of relatives). Today, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp) works with the Navy to protect this biodiversity, although the challenges are maintained, especially For illegal fishing. Despite the restrictions imposed since 2000 and reinforced in 2021, scientists such as Marino Octavio Aburto-Opeza Biologist warned that Companies still operate that offer recreational fishing or with harpoon without effective control, which puts at risk the fragile ecological balance of the area. Tourism (responsible). Today, visits to María Madre have become a strange mixture of biotourism and historical memory. Tourists, mostly Mexicans, are attracted to both the wild and The history of suffering inscribed in cells, corridors, murals and cemeteries. It explained the BBC With examples, such as the tomb of “El Sapo”, an alleged state murderer Macheted killed For their cell partners, or the esculos of octopus made by inmates who decorate still closed rooms, episodes that generate an environment between the surreal and moving. In short, although the current approach gives priority to contact with nature and environmental education, the main attraction for many remains the same as in Alcatraz: the possibility of walking for what was once a penitentiary hell. Thus, in the experience of the visit two stories live together: that of an infamous prison that functioned as a tool for social control and repression for more than a century, and that of a resilient ecosystem that now seems to offer a promise of redemption through responsible tourism and collective memory. Image | Vallee, Rawpixel In Xataka | The incredible story of the men who escaped from the Alcatraz prison with spoons, false hair and a homemade boat In Xataka | The Japanese who built a replica of his cell in his garden because his sentence seemed little: he did not get out of there again

a nuclear missile and a survival manual for the nation

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Germany was the first nation in Europe that seemed to have gotten to work with the “rearme.” That several car factories, for decades the engine of their economy, were becoming Military Armament Factoriesleft little doubt about it. In fact, the budget they have announced allocate in defense It is historical. Now it has touched France, who does not seem to go with mediacias. Multiply nuclear deterrence. Paris has announced the creation of a Fourth Nuclear Air Base In Luxeuil, to the east of the country, as part of an ambitious plan to strengthen its independent dissuasion capacity of the United States in the framework of NATO. This base, which at the time was at risk of closing, will house two squadrons of Rafale f5 fighters equipped with ASN4G hypersonic missilesan investment of 1.5 billion euros which marks a significant expansion of its nuclear arsenal. The decision responds to a tense geopolitical context, in which The war in Ukraine and uncertainty about American commitment to European defense They have led Paris to assume a more leading paper in the safety of the continent. An autonomous strategy within NATO. Currently, the French Air Force operates three nuclear bases in Saint-Dizier, Istres and Avord, which house approximately 50 Rafale B fighters armed with ASMP-A nuclear missiles and supported by Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix. The incorporation of 40 additional rafale f5 In Luxeuil it implies a substantial increase in France’s nuclear capacity, which could translate into a Increase in the total number of eyelets operational In addition to being compatible with the new ASN4G missiles, the Rafale F5 will be equipped to Operate in conjunction with drones Combat, an innovation that reinforces the French strategy strategy and greater stealth. These fighters, designed to remain in service until 2060, will consolidate the French air nuclear capacity, keeping it at the technological avant -garde against emerging threats. Pressure on Germany. The announcement of the nuclear expansion coincided with the Macron visit to Germanywhere he met with European leaders, while in parallel Trump and Putin maintained bilateral conversations. A context that suggests that France seeks not only to strengthen its own nuclear deterrencebut also to press Germany and other NATO members to increase Your investment in defense. Berlin, as we said at the beginning, is in the process of Eliminate restrictions Constitutional to military spendingwhich opens the door to that narrower cooperation in nuclear deterrence. In this sense, France has been exploring the possibility of display nuclear weapons in Germanya measure that could materialize if the United States reduces its commitment to European security. Of course, establishing a nuclear base in German territory would raise political and strategic challengesmaking the expansion within France a more viable alternative for the moment. ASN4G missiles. One of the key elements, if not the one that most expansion is the development of ASN4G hypersonic missile (Air-Sol Nucléaire of 4e Génération), which will exceed Mach 5 and will have A scope of more than 1,000 kilometerstwice the reach of the current ASMP-A. In comparison, the ASMP-A reaches Mach 3 with a maximum range of 500 kilometers and is equipped with a 300 kilotons thermonuclear load. Again, this technological advance positions France at the forefront of air nuclear deterrence in Europe, providing it with a faster attack capacity, of greater scope and difficult to intercept. In addition, the incorporation of formed fuel tanks and radar signal reduction systems in Rafale F5 its stealth and capacity will increase of penetration in hostile environments. And a survival manual. In parallel to this “increase” in nuclear deterrence, the French government is preparing the sending of A “Survival Manual” to all homes of the country with instructions on how to act in the face of imminent threats, such as armed conflicts, but also for health crises or natural disasters. This initiative, still pending approval by Prime Minister François Bayrou, seeks to strengthen the resilience of the population and ensure that citizens know how to react in case of emergency. It is expected that the document, of 20 pages, be distributed before summer and serves as a preparation guide against increasingly plausible crisis scenarios in the current context. Content of the manual. We had seen it before in Nations like Germany. In this case, the manual will be divided into three key sectionsproviding citizens with detailed information on self -protection and community protection measures, including the importance of having a family emergency plan. Also on actions to be taken before an imminent threat, such as maintaining closed doors and windows in case of nuclear attack, as well as a list of emergency numbers and essential radio frequencies. Finally, the content adds options to contribute to civil defenseencouraging registration in reserve units, volunteer firefighters and other crisis response groups. Plus: The document will recommend to citizens prepare a “survival kit”, which must include six liters of water, at least a dozen food cans, batteries, flashlight and basic medical supplies (such as paracetamol, gauze and saline solution). An uncertain future. Both the manual and the rearme are still a symbol of the New France position Faced with global challenges. With a Europe more and more vulnerable to conflicts, energy crisis and natural disasters, Macron seems to bet on a more prepared and resilient society, while reinforcing the military capacity of the country. In addition, with the decision to strengthen its nuclear capacity through the Luxeuil Base, the Nation sends a clear message: it is willing to assume strategic leadership in European defense, adapting to an increasingly unstable global environment. That distant plan that in 1959 Charles de Gaulle devised In the middle of the cold war again sounds strongly. Image | Aleem Yousaf In Xataka | In the middle of the Cold War, France designed a nuclear rearme plan for Europe. Now sound strongly In Xataka | The “rearme” of Europe has begun in a Volkswagen factory in Germany: instead of cars they will produce tanks

Three years after the beginning of the war, Europe wants to enter. The problem is that there is only one prepared nation: Ukraine

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Europe has decades without a direct armed conflict in its territory, with the exception of Yugoslavia wars in the 90sthe last great episode of violence in European soil. Since then, security in the continent has been marked by A strategy based on deterrence and diplomacymore than in military confrontation. And, suddenly, the conflict in Ukraine recalled that fireworks It is not the same as direct fire. Europe before Ukraine. As we said, the European armed forces have been reserve for a long time. In fact and how we will see, mostly they have been reduced and adapted to a context of stability, with investments limited in defense and a focus on Peace maintenance and humanitarian assistance operationssuch as missions in Balkans, Africa or the Middle East. Despite the growth of NATO and its presence in Eastern Europe, European armies have been more accustomed to acting in controlled scenarios that to prepare a direct confrontation against a weight opponent such as Russia. Fireworks. In fact, this approach has led to many military operations from European countries being Mainly exercises, joint maneuvers and drills in allied countries such as Slovakia, Poland or Latviabut without the real experience of a conventional combat against a military power. And it is not the same to deploy troops for an exercise in the Baltic countries to face in battle against a force like the Russian army. Enter the war. Under all this context we arrive at this week. A few days ago several European leaders have gathered in Paris to discuss the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine as part of A possible peace agreementalthough the viability of this measure depends largely on the support of the United States. In fact, the summit was promoted by the decision of the Trump administration of exclude Europe from negotiations They started in Saudi Arabia between Washington and Moscow, although Trump has suggested that Europeans could perform “a peace maintenance role.” Plans and divisions. And then Europe seems to have realized that the “defense” had it careless. According to The Washington Postsome European countries consider The deployment of up to 30,000 soldiersthat, yes, they would not be on the front line, but as a deterrence in case of a resumption of the conflict. Another option, or plan B, is the one that They have called “resettlement force” destined to protect Ukraine from future Russian attacks in case a peace agreement negotiated by the United States is reached. That said, France is the country with the most advanced plans estimating that could contribute almost 10,000 soldierswhile the United Kingdom, through its prime minister Keir Starmer, has opened The possibility of a British contribution. And so far, because the rest of the countries have shown a more ambiguous position. Sweden and the Netherlands, for example, They do not rule out the shipment of troopsbut they have not made a specific decision. Germany, Poland and Spain have rejected the idea, At least for now. Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz emphasized that Any solution should be based on a strong Ukrainian forcewhile Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, said that Warsaw “does not contemplate sending Poles soldiers to Ukraine.” For its part, the Spanish government was blunt when pointing out that Peace is still far and only depends on Putinmaking it clear that any military mission should define objective, participants, mandate and leadership. Strategic objectives. If the “plan B” is given, with a peace agreement underway, the main mission of this eventual “resettlement force” would be guarantee the safety of Ukrainian airspaceallowing the reopening of commercial flights, and protect maritime trade in the Black Sea, fundamental for grain exports and other essential goods for the Ukrainian economy. It would also be prioritized The protection of key infrastructure such as Public Plant and Public Servicesthat have been constant target of Russian bombing since the beginning of the war. Ukraine proposes a broader approach. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s security does not necessarily require foreign troops in his territory. Proposed The creation of “Armed Forces of Europe”capable of responding on land, sea, air and artificial intelligence before any Russian aggression. He also stressed that advanced air defense systems would be effective measures to strengthen security without requiring permanent foreign troops. The elephant in the room. No doubt, Europe’s plan faces important diplomatic obstacles, the first of all: United States support It is, at the moment, uncertain. Although the Trump administration has insisted that European troops must guarantee the security of a future peace agreement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made it clear that They must be part of a mission not related to NATO and not be protected by article 5 of mutual defense. Not just that. Even in the uncertain scenario of a peace agreement, the mission and role of Europe would require an American “backstop”that is, a support from the United States in case of a military escalation. Although there are no specific details, this support is expected It focuses on aerial power with operations based on Poland and Romania. In this regard, Starmer and Macron will travel to Washington next week To press Trump and ensure that the United States provides this strategic support. “Old” defenses. In the background, what is showing is a great weakness in its defenses, possibly oxidized. In fact, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, warned this week at the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine is making weapons faster and less cost than any other country in Europe. It is not a trivial detail. It does so despite being at war, which shows the slowness of the continent in strengthening its military capacity. Frederiksen urged to reduce bureaucracy and increase arms production in collaboration with the United States emphasizing that Europe can no longer act as if it were in peacetime. The rise of the Ukrainian military industry. From the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine has exponentially increased its armament productionmanufacturing missiles, obuses and large -scale drones. In 2024, 30% of the military equipment used … Read more

Putin has ordered to launch a Russian version of Eurovision. The last time the nation voted on lighting the light of the living room

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In geopolitics, very few things are left to chance, much less if what it is about is to extol the national values. Let’s put as an example Europe and “your” Eurovisionthat strange mixture of cultural exaltation of the peoples of the continent through music, a formula Martian that continues to awaken passions and quite the opposite for decades. In fact, even Russia has signed up for the formula. It is called interview, and in reality its history is older. Relive Russian music. As we said, Vladimir Putin has ordered the return of the Musical Interview contestthe ancient Soviet response to Eurovision, After the exclusion of the nation of the European contest in 2022 Due to the invasion of Ukraine. The event, which will apparently will be held in Moscow this fall, seeks to promote cultural and humanitarian cooperation among the allied countries of Russia, with the participation of nations such as Brazil, China, India and Cuba. The origin of interview. Released in 1977 in the middle of the Cold War, Interview It developed as A platform to promote cultural unity within the communist bloc and compete with the popularity that Eurovision already had then. It was also sought to show aval after Stalin’s death. However, if the event is remembered for something, it was for an unusual event. A peculiar vote. The lack of phones in Soviet homes forced The implementation of an unprecedented voting method: The spectators had to light the light of their house if they liked a song, or remain dark if not, allowing the electric company to register the consumption peaks and determine the winner. The success of the program resulted in surreal situations, with much of the nation in the dark at times, or totally illuminated. During its four editions, The contest managed to attract non -European countries like Cuba and Mongolia (or Finland, who was the only country he can say with “pride” that he has participated in the fever Kitsch In both blocks), standing out as a propaganda event that sought to project an image of diversity within the socialist block. End to the first stage of interview. The sunset came as the Soviet Union began to weaken at the beginning of the 80s. The contest was canceled in 1981 And since 1984 it would be Polish television TVP that resumed the organization of the festival With the old name of Sopot. In 2009, Putin proposed to restart interviewthis time between Russia, China and the countries of Central Asia, mostly members of the Shanghai cooperation organization, although it did not crystallize. Eurovision and rupture with Russia. From his first participation in Eurovision in 1994, Russia became one of the most competitive nations of the contest, although achieving its only victory in 2008 with Dima Bilan. However, Kremlin’s rejection of the evolution of the festival, where messages of diversity and visibility LGBTQ+ have won prominence, led to great tensions. Conchita Wursst’s victory in 2014 marked a breakdown: while Europe celebrated its inclusion message, In Russia the reaction was outragedwith Putin and his allies condemning the “moral degeneration” of the contest. As we said, the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sealed the definitive exclusion of Russia, which has now promoted the search for its own alternative. The “new” interview. The Guardian told this week That unlike the current Eurovision, which celebrates diversity and inclusion, this “remake” interview will adopt a conservative approach. Planning documents have revealed that Artists must respect “traditional spiritual and family values” and avoid any political content or “humiliate the honor and dignity of society.” In fact, Russian officials have affirmed that the contest will serve to promote “real music”, as opposed to what they consider “false” Western influences. International support and doubts. Apparently, Putin has discussed the initiative with Xi Jinping, receiving the support of Chinawhich suggests that the program could become an emblematic event for the geopolitical alliances of Russia. That said, doubts persist about its success, since Moscow has failed in previous initiatives to replace Western events, Like friendship gameswhich sought to rival the Olympic Games. In a world where entertainment is a weapon of mass influence, Putin’s commitment to a festival with its own seal is a declaration of intentions: Russia not only wants to challenge the West in the military and geopolitical field, but also in the cultural. That Eurovision is prepared. Image | Flowcomm, Serge Serebro In Xataka | Film rooms are becoming “show rooms” of all kinds. The best example: Eurovision In Xataka | China is filling with Russia products. The problem is that many of these products come from China itself

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