Slavic

Nesterka (Нестерка) is a series of Belarusian short animated films. There are eight in total, each a few minutes long, produced by National Film Studio “Belarusfilm” (Национальная киностудия “Беларусьфильм”). The first episode/film was released in 2004, the last in 2012. According to Belarusfilm, Nesterka is one of Belarus’s most treasured folk heroes. Nesterka is often […]

Kruglyachok (Круглячок; sometimes also spelled Кругляшок in Russian) is a Ukrainian short animated film. Ukrainian and Russian versions were created in 1992 and 2002, respectively. The film is under 10 minutes long and was produced by Ukranimafilm (Укранімафільм), the studio that replaced the Soviet-era Ukrainian animation studio Kyivnaukfilm (Київнаукфільм). Kruglyachok is based on an old Ukrainian fairy […]

This Is Ours and This Is Yours (Це – наше і це – твоє) is a contemporary Ukrainian cartoon series. It airs on PlusPlus (ПлюсПлюс), a children’s TV channel in Ukraine that also airs other cartoons such as Helpful Hints (Корисні підказки). The episodes are about a minute long. The show aims to imbue children with national […]

As Petrik Pyatochkin Counted Elephants (Як Петрик П’яточкін слоників рахував) is a short animated film in Ukrainian. It was created in 1984 and runs about 10 minutes. It’s one of the few films that Kyivnaukfilm (Київнаукфільм), the Ukrainian/Soviet animation studio, produced in Ukrainian rather than Russian. Petrik is one of the most beloved of Ukrainian cartoons. […]

Evening Urgant (Вечерний Ургант) is a Russian late-night talk show, the (intentional) equivalent of American shows like Letterman and Jimmy Fallon. It began airing in 2012 and is often called the first Russian show of its kind. It airs every day, Monday to Friday, at 11:30 on Perviy Kanal (Первый канал). The host of the […]

Cossacks (Козаки) is a series of Ukrainian short animated films that appeared between 1967 and 1995. There are nine episodes, most about 15 minutes long. The films are about three Zaporozhian Cossacks. (Cossacks are historical ethnic Ukrainians known for their fighting prowess and are considered a major part of Ukraine’s proud cultural heritage. Zaporozhian Cossacks […]

Pozner (Познер) is a Russian talk show hosted by Vladimir Pozner (Владимир Познер). It’s been airing weekly since 2008: there are 9 seasons and almost 250 hour-long episodes. The show features Pozner interviewing major figures in Russian society: politicians, artists, athletes, scientists, and others. The guest discusses various topics, often contemporary events, with Pozner, and […]

Dr. Komarovskiy’s School (Школа доктора Комаровского) is a weekly Russian health/educational show. It is actually produced and filmed in Ukraine and airs in both Ukraine and Russia, but it is entirely in Russian. It has been on since 2010 and has more than 250 half-hour episodes. The host, of course, is Dr. (Yevgeny) Komarovskiy (Евгений Комаровский […]