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About Russia...
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2004 Result
Points in Semi Final: N/A
Position in Semi Final: N/A
Points in Final: 67
Position in Final: 11th
2005 Contest: Directly qualified to Final
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History (1956 to 2003)
Russia's previous appearances: 7 year(s) out of 48
Years participated: 1994-1995; 1997; 2000-
Best result: 2nd (2000)
Russia made its Eurovision début in 1994, when Youddiph achieved a creditable 9th place. Subsequent entries were memorable - 1995's for its bizarre title, 'Lullaby for a volcano', and 1997's for Alla Pugacheva's unfeasibly big hair - but neither performed terribly well, finishing 17th and 15th respectively. Since 2000, Russia's record has been much improved, due to some strong songs and the decision to perform most of them in English. Alsou and her song 'Solo' finished a strong 2nd in 2000, and the country has avoided relegation ever since, achieving 12th place in 2001 and 10th in 2002.
Russia had high hopes for victory in 2003, sending the controversial 'lesbian' duo t.A.T.u to Eurovision. Fresh from a massive international hit with 'All the things she said', it was inevitable that t.A.T.u's song, 'Ne ver', ne bojsia', would do well. However, like Baccara before them (whose 1978 Eurovision entry for Luxembourg - 'Parlez-vous français?' - followed their international hit 'Yes sir, I can boogie'), global success prior to Eurovision failed to translate into victory, and t.A.T.u had to be content with 3rd place. It was very close, though - t.A.T.u finished just one point behind 2nd-placed Belgium, and three behind Sertab's winning song for Turkey. Interestingly, the UK was one of only two countries (the other being Ireland) to give Russia no points at all, despite 'All the things she said' already topping the UK charts earlier in 2003 - points from either country would almost certainly have given t.A.T.u victory. To be fair, the studio recording of 'Ne ver', ne bojsia' is fantastic, but t.A.T.u's performance on the night was second only to Jemini's in terms of tunelessness; 3rd place was about as much as it deserved. Nevertheless, it was quite enough to secure Russia's place in the Final for 2004.
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This year's entry
Position in Semi Final draw: N/A
Position in Final draw: 14
What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"After two near victories since 2000, Russia sticks to a proven formula by sending an established recording artist singing in English. Performed with emotion by Julia Savicheva, 'Believe me' is another of the modern, chart-friendly songs that Russia seems to do so well. To my ears, it sounds a bit like Ace of Base singing a t.A.T.u song, perhaps due to Julia's slightly ropey English accent. It's an attractive, quite unusual song, and Julia has a pleasant voice; however, it is rather repetitive, and has quite a weak ending. Coming after the energetic Belgian song, is it enough to secure a Russian victory?"
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What I predicted...
My prediction for Semi Final: N/A
My prediction for Final: 14th to 19th
What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"Pleasant though it is, I can see Russia's song getting lost in the rush, and it's difficult to imagine that 'Believe me' will be challenging for victory. There are many other songs that televoters are likely to find more memorable. I think Russia will struggle to secure an automatic place in next year's Final, and a finish in the mid to low teens might be the best they can expect this year."
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What you thought...
Final Poll Ranking: out of 36 ()
(Updated 15 May 2004; change refers to movement over final week)
In the run up to the Contest, over 5,000 visitors to this site voted for their favourite song in the Soult.com Eurovision Poll.
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What actually happened
Dodgy vocals, ridiculous outfits, distracting dance moves... no, not a repeat performance of the Belgian entry, but Julia Savicheva and her male companions bedecked in blue, red, green and purple body paint, most of which rubbed off onto Julia during her three minutes on stage. Delivering a tuneless ode to thick fishy soup ("I just cry and cry on your big chowder") worthy of her Russian predecessors, t.A.T.u, Julia was the beneficiary of 2004's most localised voting - picking up at least 8 points for 'Believe me' from all the former Soviet countries (making up 48 of its total of 67), but only 19 from all the others put together. In the end, her 11th place - securing Russia direct entry to the 2005 Final - was surely the biggest travesty of 2004's Contest.
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What the bookies thought...
 | Russia to win: | 15/05/04 (prior to Final) | 12-1 |
| | 13/05/04 (after Semi Final) | 12-1 |
| | 11/05/04 | 10-1 |
| | 08/05/04 | 8-1 |
| | 06/05/04 | 8-1 |
| | 04/05/04 | 8-1 |
| | 31/04/04 | 8-1 |
| | 24/04/04 | (jf) 7-1 |
| | 17/04/04 | 8-1 |
| | 07/04/04 | 14-1 |
| | 24/03/04 | 14-1 |
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Russia opened with odds of 14-1, but a flurry of bets saw these slashed to 7-1, making Russia for a time the joint favourite with Greece. Never a contender for victory on the night, Russia nonetheless surprised many by finishing as high as 11th, gaining an automatic place in the Final in the process.
(Odds quoted here were those offered by Coral.co.uk. 'F' indicates favourite, 'JF' joint favourite.)
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Links
 http://www.savicheva.ru/
 http://www.1tv.ru/eurovision/
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Notes (see 'History' above)
- The 1956 Contest (where each country had two songs) is counted as a single appearance;
- Countries eliminated in the 1993 preliminary heat (EE, HU, RO, SK) ARE NOT counted as making an appearance in that year's Contest;
- Countries eliminated in the 1996 preliminary heat (DE, DK, HU, IL, MK, RO, RU) ARE NOT counted as making an appearance in that year's Contest;
- Countries eliminated in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Semi Finals ARE counted as making an appearance in that year's Contest.
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Your comments (16)
From clytoin, Malta
Added 22:04:54 2005-12-21
vote for malta becouse this country always give us the best song
From jakie, AUSTRALIA
Added 13:16:8 2004-5-11
There is only one thing I can say to describe Russia's entry this year… avril lavinge.
www.livejournal.com/~jakie_em
From ray, NORWAY
Added 14:19:46 2004-5-9
this girl can sing:-) I like it! It can be a winner. I'll vote for it anyway.
From Graham Soult, UNITED KINGDOM
Added 14:8:1 2004-5-9
Calm down, Halil!!! Maria's comment was not political - it was complaining about the decision of Russia, France and Poland not to broadcast the Semi Final.
From Halil Halil, CYPRUS
Added 13:53:7 2004-5-9
Maria Arismandi, you're supposed to stay away from political discussions. If those countries are really cowardly( you're referring to the Iraq War, no doubt) then why did Spain withdraw?
The whole idea of political discussion is disturbing. The song is not good enough to reach the top 10, but bad-mouthing a country' entry because of political circumstances is stupid and primitive!
From Simson, ISRAEL
Added 18:25:48 2004-5-8
Izi are you having a laugh? i think you mean visit Russian and not go there because they won. If not then I hope that is waht u mean. ps i can bet you twice as much that the opposite will happen!
From ME-IS-ME, --
Added 16:17:14 2004-5-8
OH NO please tell me this is not the Russias Delegation.....oh my days...isnt there anything better in Russia than this?
From christos, --
Added 20:51:49 2004-5-7
Haha you gotta be kidin me..is this a song or what! Peter Walsh fill me here....anyways gooooood luck I m sure you will need it looool....
From Izi, ISRAEL
Added 9:53:21 2004-5-7
I'M READY TO PAY TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU PEOPLE 10$ IF WE ARE NOT GOING TO MOSCOW NEXT YEAR.
A WINNER, NO DOUBT
MOSKVA 2005!
From Mark, GERMANY
Added 22:12:21 2004-4-29
I laugh myself off. 12 Points for that one, Kir ; )
Though the russian song is a bit normal with no special highlight in it, the voice is not that bad (if you listen to some other competitors).
From Kir, RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Added 21/04/2004 22:31
Dear Johanna! If your favorite thing is sucking something, please don't think that way about other people or songs. And you should always read the form's rules (avoid using language that might cause offence). But in your case it is better to suck than to speak.
From christos, GREECE
Added 18/04/2004 17:15
very very nice song! i wish you the best Julia!! Mr Soult you hear the new version of shake it? i think you are gonna like it!!!!tell me your opinion if you hear it! bye!
From Johanna, --
Added 11/04/2004 17:21
Of ALL songs this year, this one really really sucks.
She cant sing and she cant pronounce the english properly, no she does it really bad. And the song really suck. So bad
From Leli, MALTA
Added 09/04/2004 15:45
Well, let's just from here. It isn't one of the best but surely one of the good. It has a good sound, i mean you'll enjoy yourself listeing to it. Good Luck Russia from all of Malta.
From Maria Arismendi, SPAIN
Added 07/04/2004 08:25
Everybody, Please Will Not to Vote
France, Poland and Russia, Beacuse
They are Cowards, The Three Countries Not Give Points In semi-final!!!!!!!!!! Shame are.......
From Sérgio Rego, PORTUGAL
Added 06/04/2004 17:23
Nice, pleasant song. Top 10 for sure.
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