Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka, played by comedian and musician Andriy Danylko, is a robust middle-aged woman from the small town of Poltava who dances, sings, makes unsavory remarks, and in 2007 won second place in the Eurovision Song Contest. Verka has created her fair share of controversy, but her supporters greatly outnumber her rivals, especially in Ukraine and Russia, where she is applauded not only for the great show she puts one, but for her truthful interpretation of national culture and character.