First nomination and win

Amid World War II, Moscow Strikes Back (1942) made history as the first Soviet film to receive the prestigious award as the best documentary feature, along with three other winning works. Made on the request of Soviet commander Joseph Stalin, the film is a striking record of a key turning point in the war – the Battle of Moscow – and the people’s heroism and dedication, as captured by frontline cameramen. Due to wartime rationing, the statuettes themselves were made of painted plaster, not gold-plated bronze; though "real" Oscars were produced after the war, USSR's was left unclaimed. The original plaster statuette is now on display at Moscow's Film Museum.

First foreign film win

The 1969 Academy Awards

The first Soviet film to land the award as the Best International Feature Film was War and Peace (1966-1967) by Sergei Bondarchuk. Split into four parts and clocking in at around six hours in total, it is just as epic and encyclopedic as Leo Tolstoy's original novel. The film chronicles the lives of Russian aristocrats against the backdrop of the French invasion of Russia. Aside from the 1969 Oscar, the film can boast some other titles as well: it’s the longest film to receive the award, the most expensive movie produced at the time (acc. to the 1979 Guinness Book of World Records), and the highest-grossing movie in the USSR in 1966.

First co-production win

The 1976 Academy Awards

The fruit of a collaboration between Japan and the Soviet Union, Dersu Uzala (1975) received the title of Best Foreign Language Film in 1976. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, the movie is based on Vladimir Arsenyev's memoirs; it follows a Russian explorer as he meets a local hunter on his expedition in the wilds of the Russian Far East. The movie is shot almost entirely on location, offering viewers some lovely scenery along with a moving plot. Both sides of the production were honored with an Oscar. 

First contemporary film win

The 1995 Academy Awards

Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun (1994) is the first and so far the only Russian film to receive the award for Best Foreign Language Film since the fall of the Soviet Union. Mikhalkov wasn’t just the director of the movie; he also co-wrote it and starred in it himself. His real-life daughter, meanwhile, played his daughter on the screen. The story follows a Soviet hero whose quaint life with his wife and daughter is suddenly disrupted by the Soviet regime. Apart from this Oscar-winning picture, the director was granted two more nominations over the years, in 1993 and 2008. 

First contemporary actor nominated

Whatever Hollywood's big night brings, Yura Borisov is now regarded as the first Russian actor to be up for an Oscar in almost half a century since Mikhail Baryshnikov’s nomination in 1977. Borisov was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sean Baker's Anora (2024). Somewhat in the spirit of Garry Marshall's Pretty Woman, plus a twist, the film follows the romance between a 23-year-old stripper and a son of a Russian oligarch. In the film, Borisov plays a Russian henchman named Igor. 

Before the results are out, treat yourself to all things movies – here you’ll find everything from our recs and reviews to movie locations to visit in Russia and St. Petersburg. Enjoy!