Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 18 times since their debut in 1994 and has participated every year since 2000. Russia won the 2008 contest with Dima Bilan performing the song "Believe". Russia has also finished second in the contest three times, with Alsou in 2000, Dima Bilan in 2006 and Buranovskiye Babushki in 2012. As of 2014, Russia, along with Sweden, holds the record for the most top five finishes in the 21st Century, with a total of seven.

Russia, along with Romania and Greece, has never missed a final since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004.^{[note 1]}

Contest history

Their debut was in the 1994 contest after Russia became a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). In 2000, 2006 and 2012 Russia came second in the contest with Alsou's song "Solo", Dima Bilan's "Never Let You Go" and Buranovskiye Babushki with "Party for Everybody" song, respectively. In both 2003 and 2007, Russia placed 3rd, with t.A.T.u.'s "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia" and Serebro's "Song #1."

In 1996, Russia's entry was Andrey Kosinski with the song "Me is me", but on the eve of competition (for the second time in its history), he scored an insufficient number of points in a special qualifying round and therefore missed the final.

In 1998, because Russia did not participate in the contest (due to lower average scores in participating in previous competitions), Russia refused to broadcast the competition and the European Broadcasting Union in return forbade the country to participate the following year. According to unconfirmed information, Russia was required to submit Tatyana Ovsiyenko with the song "My Sun".

Since the introduction of the semi-finals, Russia is, along with Greece and Romania, one of the three countries left that has never missed a final. Azerbaijan has also never missed a final, but due to the fact Azerbaijan debuted after the semi-final introduction, Azerbaijan is not counted as one of these countries.

Russia won their first Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, when Dima Bilan, participating for the second time in the contest, won with the song "Believe", bringing the contest to Russia for 2009.

Russia was the most successful country in Eurovision in 2000-2009, with one win, two second places, and two third places. However, in 2010 they finished 11th, and in 2011 they were 16th, which was the worst place for Russia since 1995. Interest in the competition fell, but in 2012 Buranovskiye Babushki finished in second place, increasing Russia's interest in the show. Russia holds the record for the most top five finishes in the 21st century, with seven, most recently with Dina Garipova, who was fifth in 2013.

Revival of Intervision Song Contest

Days after the final of Eurovision Song Contest 2014, the deputy of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Mr Valery Rashkin made proposals of a new contest for members of the Former Soviet Union called "Voice of Eurasia".^[1] On 26 May 2014, it was announced that the Intervision Song Contest, the Soviet-era rival to the Eurovision Song Contest would return in October 2014 consisting of ex-Soviet states and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.^[2]

Broadcast

The contest has been broadcast irregularly on two different public state channels in Russia, both EBU members: for the 1994 and 1996 it was broadcast on Russia-1, while in 1995, 1997 and from 1999 to 2007 the contest was broadcast on Channel One. Since 2008, there is an alternation on broadcast, with Russia-1 on even years, and Channel One on odd ones.

Contestants

Table key

NOTES:

a. ^ In 1996 Russia failed to qualify from the pre-qualification round. The official Eurovision site does not count 1996 in Russia's total list of appearances.

b. ^ Russia was forced to sit out another year in 1999, as the EBU only allows countries which had broadcast the previous year's contest to enter the next year's contest.

c. If a country won the previous year, they did not have to compete in Semi Finals. In addition, back in 2005-2007, countries who done well did not have to compete in Semi Finals the following year. The top ten non-Big four along with the Big four countries automatically qualified, for example, if Germany and France placed inside the top 10, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with everyone within the top 10.

Act selection process

Year	Selection process	Channel
1994	National Final with 9 participants	Russia 1
1995	Internal Selection	Channel 1
1996	National Final with 14 participants	Russia 1
1997	Internal Selection	Channel 1
Did not participate between 1998 and 1999
2000	Internal Selection	Channel 1
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005	National Final with 29 participants
2006	Internal Selection
2007
2008	National Final with 27 participants	Russia 1
2009	National Final with 16 participants	Channel 1
2010	National Final with 25 participants	Russia 1
2011	Internal Selection	Channel 1
2012	National Final with 25 participants	Russia 1
2013	Internal Selection	Channel 1
2014		Russia 1
2015		Channel 1

Commentators and spokespersons

Year(s)	Commentator	Dual Commentator	Spokesperson	Channel
1994	Vadim Dolgachyov	No Dual Commentator	Arina Sharapova	Russia 1
1995	Unknown		Marina Danielyan	Channel 1
1996	Vadim Dolgachyov		Russia did not participate	Russia 1
1997	Philipp Kirkorov	Sergei Antipov	Arina Sharapova	Channel 1
1998	No Broadcast	No Broadcast	Russia did not participate	No Broadcast
1999	Aleksej Zhuravlev	Tatjana Godunova		Channel 1
2000			Zhanna Agalakova
2001	Alexander Anatolievich	Konstantin Mikhailov	Larisa Verbickaya
2002	Yuriy Aksuta	Elena Batinova	Arina Sharapova
2003			Yana Churikova
2004
2005
2006		Tatjana Godunova
2007		Elena Batinova
2008	Dmitriy Guberniyev	Olga Shelest	Oxana Fedorova	Russia 1
2009	Yana Churikova	Semi-finals — Aleksey Manuylov; Final — Philipp Kirkorov	Ingeborga Dapkunaite	Channel 1
2010	Dmitriy Guberniyev	Olga Shelest	Oxana Fedorova	Russia 1
2011	Yuriy Aksuta	Yana Churikova	Dima Bilan	Channel 1
2012	Dmitriy Guberniyev	Olga Shelest	Oxana Fedorova	Russia 1
2013	Yuriy Aksuta	Yana Churikova	Alsou	Channel 1
2014	Dmitriy Guberniyev	Olga Shelest		Russia 1
2015	Yana Churikova	No Dual Commentator	TBA	Channel 1

Voting history

As of 2014, Russia's voting history is as follows:

Most points given in the grand finals only Rank Country Points 1  Ukraine 83 2  Azerbaijan 69 3  Armenia 61 4  Greece 59 5  Norway 55 Most points received in the grand finals only Rank Country Points 1  Estonia 139 2  Latvia 119 3  Belarus 117 4=  Israel 104  Lithuania 104  Ukraine 104

Most points given in the semis and finals Rank Country Points 1  Ukraine 114 2  Azerbaijan 111 3  Armenia 105 4  Moldova 101 5  Greece 87 Most points received in the semis and finals Rank Country Points 1  Estonia 182 2  Belarus 161 3  Latvia 157 4  Israel 140 5  Moldova 137

Hostings

Year	Location	Venue	Presenters
2009	Moscow	Olympic Indoor Arena	Semi-finals: Natalia Vodianova and Andrey Malahov; Final: Alsou and Ivan Urgant[3]

Photogallery

• 

  Serebro at Helsinki (2007)

• 

  Dima Bilan at Belgrade (2008)

• 

  Anastasiya Prikhodko at Moscow (2009)

• 

  Alex Vorobyov at Düsseldorf (2011)

• 

  Dina Garipova at Malmö (2013)

• 

  Tolmachevy Sisters at Copenhagen (2014)

See also

• Russia in the Eurovision Dance Contest
• Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
• Russia in the Türkvizyon Song Contest

Notes and references

Notes

1. ↑ The "Big Five" (United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Germany) are not counted in this list since they receive automatic qualification to the final. Neither is Azerbaijan, that has qualified every year they have competed, but debuting four years after the introduction of the semifinals.

References

1. ↑ "Russia: Proposes Own Eurovision Song Contest. Will Russia participate finally?". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 May 2014.  |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
2. ↑ Granger, Anthony (23 May 2014). "Russia: Intervision To Return This October". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 May 2014. 
3. ↑ "Exclusive: The hosts of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 

External links

• Points to and from Russia eurovisioncovers.co.uk

Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 to 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015   Artists 1990s Youddiph Philipp Kirkorov 1996 Alla Pugacheva 1998 1999 2000s Alsou Mumiy Troll Prime Minister t.A.T.u. Julia Savicheva Natalia Podolskaya Dima Bilan Serebro Dima Bilan Anastasiya Prikhodko 2010s Peter Nalitch Alexey Vorobyov Buranovskiye Babushki Dina Garipova Tolmachevy Sisters Polina Gagarina   Songs 1990s "Vyechniy stranik" "Kolibelnaya dlya vulkana" 1996 "Primadonna" 1998 1999 2000s "Solo" "Lady Alpine Blue" "Northern Girl" "Ne ver', ne boysia" "Believe Me" "Nobody Hurt No One" "Never Let You Go" "Song #1" "Believe" "Mamo" 2010s "Lost and Forgotten" "Get You" "Party for Everybody" "What If" "Shine" "A Million Voices" (Note: Entries scored out are when Russia did not compete)

Eurovision Song Contest History Languages Marcel Bezençon Awards OGAE Presenters Rules Voting Winners Winners discography Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest Best of Eurovision Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits   Countries Active Albania Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Inactive Andorra Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Luxembourg Monaco Morocco Slovakia Turkey Ukraine Former Serbia and Montenegro Yugoslavia Unsuccessful attempts Kazakhstan Kosovo Lebanon Liechtenstein Qatar Scotland Soviet Union Tunisia   Contests 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Host cities 1950s Lugano Frankfurt Hilversum Cannes 1960s London Cannes Luxembourg London Copenhagen Naples Luxembourg Vienna London Madrid 1970s Amsterdam Dublin Edinburgh Luxembourg Brighton Stockholm The Hague London Paris Jerusalem 1980s The Hague Dublin Harrogate Munich Luxembourg Gothenburg Bergen Brussels Dublin Lausanne 1990s Zagreb Rome Malmö Millstreet Dublin Dublin Oslo Dublin Birmingham Jerusalem 2000s Stockholm Copenhagen Tallinn Riga Istanbul Kiev Athens Helsinki Belgrade Moscow 2010s Oslo Düsseldorf Baku Malmö Copenhagen Vienna Congratulations: 50 Years of Eurovision (2005): Copenhagen Best of Eurovision (2006): Hamburg Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits (2015): London   Venues 1950s Teatro Kursaal Großer Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks AVRO Studio Palais des Festivals 1960s Royal Festival Hall Palais des Festivals Villa Louvigny BBC Television Centre Tivolis Koncertsal RAI Concert Hall Villa Louvigny Hofburg Palace Royal Albert Hall Teatro Real 1970s RAI Congrescentrum Gaiety Theatre Usher Hall Grand Théâtre Brighton Dome Stockholm International Fairs Nederlands Congrescentrum Wembley Conference Centre Palais des Congrès International Convention Center 1980s Nederlands Congrescentrum RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion Harrogate International Centre Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle Grand Théâtre Scandinavium Grieg Hall Centenary Palace RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion Palais de Beaulieu 1990s Koncertna dvorana Vatroslav Lisinski Studio 15 di Cinecittà Malmö Isstadion Green Glens Arena Point Theatre Point Theatre Oslo Spektrum Point Theatre National Indoor Arena International Convention Center 2000s Ericsson Globe Parken Stadium Saku Suurhall Arena Skonto Hall Abdi İpekçi Arena Palace of Sports Olympic Indoor Hall Hartwall Areena Belgrade Arena Olimpiisky Indoor Arena 2010s Telenor Arena Esprit Arena Baku Crystal Hall Malmö Arena B&W Hallerne Wiener Stadthalle Congratulations: 50 Years of Eurovision (2005): Forum Copenhagen Best of Eurovision (2006): NDR Studios Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits (2015): Eventim Apollo   National selections Current Albania Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Denmark Estonia Finland Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Malta Moldova Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Former Bosnia & Herzegovina Croatia Estonia Finland Greece Ireland Latvia Latvia Montenegro Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Switzerland Yugoslavia Category Portal Project

Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits   Represented years Chronological order 1968 1969 1973 1976 1980 1982 1984 1985 1987 1992 1998 2000 2001 2002 2006 2008 2012 2013 2014   Represented countries Alphabetical order Austria Denmark Finland France Germany Ireland Israel Luxembourg Norway Russia Spain Sweden United Kingdom   Represented artists Alphabetical order Anne-Marie David Bobbysocks! Brotherhood of Man Conchita Wurst Dana International Dima Bilan Emmelie de Forest Herreys Johnny Logan Lordi Loreen Natasha St-Pier Nicole Olsen Brothers Rosa López   Represented songs Alphabetical order "Believe / Never Let You Go" (medley) "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" "Diva" "Ein bißchen Frieden" "Euphoria" "Fly on the Wings of Love" "Hard Rock Hallelujah" "Je n'ai que mon âme" "La, la, la / Vivo cantando / Eres tú / Europe's Living a Celebration" (medley) "La det swinge" "Only Teardrops" "Rise Like a Phoenix" "Save Your Kisses for Me" "Tu te reconnaîtras" "What's Another Year / Why Me? / Hold Me Now" (medley) (Note: "Withdrawn" refers to entries that withdrew after applying to enter)