The Best TV Shows on Central Television USSR

Every Central Television USSR Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Across the timeline from 1961 to 1990, Central Television USSR has presented audiences with over 20 captivating shows. For top-tier entertainment, Central Television USSR delivered KVN and Фитиль (киножурнал) in 1961 and 1962. Check out the most acclaimed shows on Central Television USSR, with a catalog of over 20 series updated for June 2025.

  • А зори здесь тихие
    А зори здесь тихие (1972)10.0

    In a remote village in Karelia, Sergeant Vaskov commands an anti-aircraft unit that protects a rail depot. While his men are transferred to the front line, he is reprimanded for their unruly behavior. He retorts that he wants replacements that aren't drunks or womanizers. In response, he is assigned a unit made up entirely of young women, fresh from training.

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The twentieth century begins
    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The twentieth century begins (1988)9.0

    The fifth and final part of the cycle of Soviet television feature films, filmed by director Igor Maslennikov based on the stories of the English writer Arthur Conan Doyle about the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. In the first part based on the works - "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb", "The Adventure of the Second Stain". In the second part based on the works - "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans", and "His Last Bow".

  • Оба-на!
    Оба-на! (1990)9.0

  • The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed
    The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (1979)8.6

    After WWII is over, a young officer Volodya Sharapov returns to Moscow to work in MUR - Moskovskiy Ugolovny Rozysk (Moscow Criminal Police). There he meets Gleb Zheglov who is a chief of a squad which fights organized crime. Their main task is to track down a gang "Chernaya Koshka" (Black Cat) which terrorizes the city. Also, they have to find out who murdered Larisa Gruzdeva. Zheglov believes it was her husband Ivan Gruzdev, but Sharapov has his doubts about it...

  • What? Where? When?
    What? Where? When? (1975)8.3

    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.

  • More Than Life At Stake
    More Than Life At Stake (1968)8.1

    Stawka większa niż życie is a series about the adventures of a Polish secret agent, Hans Kloss, who acts as a double agent in the Abwehr during Second World War in occupied Poland.

  • Nu, pogodi!
    Nu, pogodi! (1969)8.0

    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.

  • Adventures of Captain Vrungel
    Adventures of Captain Vrungel (1980)7.9

    An old sea captain and his student decide to take part in the international regatta. At the same time an amateur thief steals a statue of Aphrodite from Louvre and boards their yacht by mistake. A long, fun adventure is ahead.

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1980)7.8

    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.

  • Фитиль (киножурнал)
    Фитиль (киножурнал) (1962)7.5

  • Investigation Held by ZnaToKi
    Investigation Held by ZnaToKi (1971)7.1

  • День за днём
    День за днём (1971)7.0

  • V.I.Lenin. Pages of Life
    V.I.Lenin. Pages of Life (1983)7.0

  • Leopold the Cat
    Leopold the Cat (1975)6.8

    Leopold the Cat is a Soviet/Russian animation series about the pacifistic, and intelligent cat, Leopold. Leopold always wears a bow tie even when swimming. He is always confronted by two mischievous mice, Grey and White. It was filmed by T/O Ekran in 1975 - 1987 and its runtime is 87 min. As of 1987, there were 11 episodes in total. Eventually, in 1995, most of the episodes were released on DVD. It was directed by Anatoly Reznikov, and the screenplay was written by Arkady Hayt. Boris Savelyev wrote the score. The cinematography was by Ernst Gaman, Igor Shkamarda, and Vladimir Milovanov. Nelli Kudrina did the sound. His catchphrase is - "Let's live in friendship, guys". The catchphrases of the mice are "Come out, Leopold!" by one and "Come out, you foul coward!" by the second.

  • Yeralash
    Yeralash (1974)6.6

    The children's humorous film magazine "Yeralash" is a one-of-a-kind work of cinematography that ironically approaches the solution of everyday problems, focusing on the views and needs of modern society, allowing different generations to achieve mutual understanding.

  • KVN
    KVN (1961)6.5

    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.

  • Captain Nemo
    Captain Nemo (1976)6.5

    A Soviet three-part television miniseries directed by Vasily Levin loosely based on the novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

  • State Border
    State Border (1980)6.4

  • The Life of Klim Samgin
    The Life of Klim Samgin (1988)6.3

  • Time
    Time (1968)3.5