As the rest of Europe watched on, Russia was booed a number of times during the Eurovision Song Contest tonight.

When the country “phoned in” to deliver its top three votes, the crowd could be heard booing the Russian spokesman as she attempted to read out the country’s results from Moscow.

After Russia delivered its vote – giving a full 12 points to neighbouring Belarus, 10 to Azerbaijan and eight to Armenia – the crowd could still be heard booing.

Countries who voted for Russia, including Armenia and Belarus, were also booed when delivering points to the country, which has been at the centre of criticism over its handling of the crisis in Ukraine and its controversial anti-gay propaganda law.

Russia’s entry, the identical Tolmachevy twins, were also booed during the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday.

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Eurovision 2014

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Britain’s Eurovision commentator Graham Norton said he felt sorry for the twins, adding they were “just 17”.

Austria’s transvestite entry Conchita Wurst has also been at the centre of controversy surrounding the contest, after receiving a number of transphobic comments from some eastern European groups demanding she resign from the competition.

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Russian politician Vitaly Milonov, one of the architects of the country’s gay propaganda law, called Wurst a “pervert” and labelled the competition a “hotbed of sodomy”.

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