Russia
The basics Full country name Russian Federation Capital Moscow Facts First participation 1994 (Youddiph) Victories 2008 (Dima Bilan) Hosts Moscow 2009
Russia made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 but didn't win until Dima Bilan lifted the trophy in Belgrade in 2008 with the song 'Believe'. In recent years Russia has become one of the most successful countries at the Eurovision Song Contest
Since the introduction of the Semi-Finals in 2004, Russia has consistently qualifed for the Grand Final. The 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held in the capital, Moscow following Dima Bilan's victory the previous year.
In 2000 Alsou took the country to second place with the song Solo in Stockholm and in 2003 musical duo t.A.T.u. represented Russia in Riga and finished third. In 2006 Dima Bilan made his first appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing second with Never Let You Go and the following year Serebro took the country to the top three again with Song #1.
In twenty appearances in the Eurovision Song Contest, Russia has finished in the top five nine times. Whilst Russia has only won the Eurovision Song Contest once, it won the Semi-Finals in which it was competing in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Russia is also the only country to qualify and participate in every Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final since the Semi-Finals were introduced in 2004 (Azerbaijan first entered in 2008 and whilst Romania and Ukraine have also qualified every time they have participated, they did not participate in 2016 and 2015 respectively).
