KVN

KVN 1961

6.50

KVN is a Russian humour TV show and competition where teams compete by giving funny answers to questions and showing prepared sketches. The programme was first aired by the First Soviet Channel on November 8, 1961. Eleven years later, in 1972, when few programmes were being broadcast live, Soviet censors found the students' impromptu jokes offensive and anti-Soviet and banned KVN. The show was revived fourteen years later during the Perestroika era in 1986, with Alexander Maslyakov as its host. It is one of the longest-running TV programmes on Russian Television. It also has its own holiday on November 8, the birthday of the game, which KVN players celebrate every year since it was announced and widely celebrated for the first time in 2001.

1961

What? Where? When?

What? Where? When? 1975

8.30

What? Where? When? is an intellectual game show well known in Russian-language media and other CIS states since mid-1970s. Today it is produced for television by TV Igra on the Russian Channel One and also exists as a competitive game played in clubs organized by the World Association of Clubs. Over 17 000 teams worldwide play sport version of game, based on the TV show.

1975

Nu, pogodi!

Nu, pogodi! 1969

8.00

Follows the comical adventures of a mischievous yet artistic wolf [Volk], trying to catch a hare [Zayats]. The series has additional characters that usually either help the hare or interfere with the wolf's plans.

1969

Seventeen Moments of Spring

Seventeen Moments of Spring 1973

7.80

A Soviet spy is tasked with disrupting the negotiations between Karl Wolff and Allen Dulles taking place in Switzerland, aimed at forging a separate peace between Germany and the Western Allies.

1973

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson 1980

8.00

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is a series of five films produced by Lenfilm for the Soviet Central Television, split into eleven episodes, starring Vasily Livanov as Sherlock Holmes and Vitaly Solomin as Dr. Watson. They were directed by Igor Maslennikov and filmed in Russia (the then Soviet Union) between 1979 and 1986, and the series was one of the most successful in the history of Russian television.

1980

Inspector Losev

Inspector Losev 1983

8.00

The series tells about how police officers, investigating the case of robberies and murders in hotels, managed not only to neutralize, but also to expose major plunderers of socialist property.

1983

The Shield and the Sword

The Shield and the Sword 1968

6.80

The year is 1940 and Nazi Germany is at the height of its military prowess, having captured most of Europe and eyeing the Soviet Union to the East. The Russian military command suspects hostile intent from Germany and so arranges for its spies to infiltrate ranks of the German military and the SS. Alexander Belov is a Russian spy, who travels from Soviet-held Latvia to Nazi Germany under an alias of Johann Weiss. His mastery of the German language, steel nerves and an ability to manipulate others help him to use his connections in the SS to ascend the ladder of the German intelligence. He uses his position to identify sympathetic Germans, who help him to procure vital intelligence, and to help local resistance movements in their collective fight against Nazism.

1968

Time

Time 1968

3.50

1968

The Keepers

The Keepers 1991

5.78

Soviet live-action film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, aired once in 1991 by Leningrad Television and then thought lost. It was rediscovered in 2021. It includes scenes of Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wight omitted from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

1991

In Search of Captain Grant

In Search of Captain Grant 1985

7.70

Lord and Lady Glenarvan found a bottle in the ocean. This bottle contained a letter from Captain Grant that he and two of his sailors had survived a disaster at sea and need help. Unfortunately, the letter was damaged by water, and the latitude is known (37 degrees), but not the longitude. The Glenarvans decide to find Captain Grant.

1985

Soldiers of Freedom

Soldiers of Freedom 1977

4.10

The action of the epic film takes place in the second half of World War II. The plot focuses on the liberation of European countries from German occupation and the anti-fascist activities of the communist parties of these countries. After the victory at Stalingrad, a decisive turn occurred during the war. The main aim is the rallying of all patriotic forces, the creation of a national anti-fascist front in the struggling countries. The swift offensive of the Soviet troops, problems with the opening of a second front, major operations and the offensive of the Soviet army lead to the liberation of Europe. Rebellions are rising in different countries - such as the heroic uprising in Warsaw, in Slovenia, Bucharest and other cities. Brave heroes who performed immortal feats in the name of the happiness of mankind and freedom.

1977

The Twelve Chairs

The Twelve Chairs 1977

7.66

Set in late-1920s Soviet Union, Ostap Bender and Ippolit "Kisa" Vorobyaninov are after a stash of diamonds hidden in one of the chairs in 12-chair set. They are forced to go on a cross-country chase when the chairs are auctioned off.

1977