Russian

Viking (Викинг) is a 2016 Russian historical action film. Directed by Andrey Kravchuk (Андрей Кравчук), the film is loosely based on the Primary Chronicle, the earliest known written history of Rus’, and the Icelandic King’s Sagas. It has been dubbed “Russia’s Game of Thrones” by Screen International for its dark cinematography and its medieval storyline […]

Golos (The Voice, Russian: Голос) is a Russian reality talent competition. Running since October 2012, the show is one of Channel One’s most popular programs. Golos is the Russian version of the international talent competition The Voice, which began as The Voice of Holland and now has versions in various countries. The winners of the first […]

Earthquake (Землетрясение) is a 2016 historical drama by Russian–Armenian director Sarik Andreasyan (Сарик Андреасян). The film depicts the massive earthquake, and its aftermath, that shook Armenia on December 7, 1988. Starring Konstantin Lavronenko (Константин Лавроненко), Mariya Mironova (Мария Миронова), Viktor Stepanyan (Виктор Степанян), and Tatev Ovakimyan (Татев Овакимян), the film has seen a lot of […]

Voroniny (Воронины) is a Russian comedy television series. Airing on CTC network, for its first ten seasons the show was a Russian adaptation of the successful American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. After season 11 (the show is currently on season 18), the show became an original series. As a classic situation comedy, Voroniny does not have a strict […]

Dom-2 (Дом-2) is the longest running reality TV show in the world. When it first aired in 2003, the contestants’ objective was to construct a house while at the same time finding a romantic partner. After contestants have coupled up, they then compete for the house itself. Hosted by Ksenia Sobchak (Ксения Собчак) and Ksenia Borodina […]

Fizruk (Физрук) is a Russian comedy television series. The main story line revolves around an ex-criminal who finds himself working as a physical education teacher. To make it work, he must rebuild relationships with old acquaintances and his family, and build new relationships with his new students and fellow teachers. Airing on TNT (ТНТ) since […]

Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане) is a 1975 Soviet short animated film. It’s rather dark and philosophical, and not exactly meant for children; but even if you can’t understand every word, it’s beautiful and fascinating enough to be worth a watch. The film was directed by Yuriy Norshtein (Юрий Норштейн), a very well-known […]

Cheburashka (Чебурашка) is one of the great classics of Russian culture (one could say). The cartoons, which basically all Russians and Russian language students know and love, aired between 1969 and 1974. The Cheburashka episodes are actually a series of short films—“Crocodile Gena and His Friends” (“Крокодил Гена и его друзья), “Cheburashka” (“Чебурашка”), “Shapoklyak” (“Шапокляк”),  and “Cheburashka Goes […]