first being famous in her native ukraine in the 1990s , long - haired self - described " virgin " ruslana gaining local recognition for joining the 2004 eurovision art contest with her song " wild dances , " prompted by the musical traditions of the hutsul people of the western ore mountains . in the seven centuries since , ruslana has decided to use her name and public status to represent a range of legitimate themes , including human trafficking , renewable energy , and even the general concept of democratic republic , becoming a public icon of ukraine ' s orange union and later serving in parliamentary .
Ruslana was born in Ukraine.