Vyechniy Stranik

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Vyechniy Stranik
Eurovision Song Contest 1994 entry
Country	Russia
Artist(s)	Maria Katz
As	Youddiph
Language	Russian
Composer(s)	Lev Zemlinski
Lyricist(s)	Pilgrim (Maria Katz)
Place	9th
Points	70
Lyrics	from Diggiloo Thrush

Vyechniy Stranik (Russian script Вечный странник, English translation: "Eternal Wanderer") was the Russian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, performed in Russian by Youddiph. This was Russia's debut at the Contest, and consequently the first occasion on which the language was used onstage.

The song is a dramatic ballad, with Youddiph professing her love for an unnamed other, whom she refers to as "eternal wanderer". She sings that, despite his absence making their house "empty", she knows that "I'm your destiny" and that he will remember her and ultimately return.

The performance is remembered chiefly for the red dress Youddiph wore, which also featured a cloak.

The song was performed twenty-third on the night (following Hungary's Friderika with Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet? and preceding Poland's Edyta Górniak with To nie ja). At the close of voting, it had received 70 points, placing 9th in a field of 25. While this result was not as striking as the positions attained by Poland and Hungary, the fact that three Eastern European countries had placed in the top 10 was an indication of future trends at the Contest, which would be dominated by countries from that region within a decade.

It was succeeded as Russian representative at the 1995 Contest by Philip Kirkorov with Kolibelnaya Dlya Vulkana.