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The Best TV Shows on Central Television USSR

Every Central Television USSR Show Ranked From Best To Worst

A broadcaster of distinction, Central Television USSR has aired more than 20 shows between 1961 and 1989. Peruse our comprehensive roster of Central Television USSR’s top shows, encompassing over 20 distinct series as of January 2025. Icons of Central Television USSR, KVN and Фитиль (киножурнал) made their debut in 1961 and 1962, setting industry standards.

  • Фитиль (киножурнал)
    Фитиль (киножурнал) (1962)9.0

  • Dead Souls
    Dead Souls (1984)8.3

    Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov plans to buy the titles to “dead souls” and use them as collateral to obtain a large loan. He comes to a small provincial town and begins to proposition the local landowners. These landowners are revealed to be so petty and avaricious that not even Chichikov’s amazing offer can be worked to his advantage on them. Some stall, some refuse for no obvious reasons, some promise and then renege, and others want “in on the deal.” In the end, Chichikov, having concluded that the landowners are a hopeless lot, leaves for other regions.

  • 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.

  • Seventeen Moments of Spring
    Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973)7.8

    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.

  • 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.

  • In Search of Captain Grant
    In Search of Captain Grant (1985)7.7

    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.

  • The Prisoner of the Chateau d'If
    The Prisoner of the Chateau d'If (1989)7.7

    On the very eve of his wedding with his beloved girl, Edmond Dantes is falsely accused and becomes a prisoner of the gloomy Château d'If. Here he will languish until the end of his days, but a desperate determination to save himself and a lucky chance help him escape to freedom. Having become fabulously rich and turned into the Count of Monte Cristo, he begins to take revenge...

  • The Twelve Chairs
    The Twelve Chairs (1977)7.6

    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.

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

  • Yeralash
    Yeralash (1974)7.0

    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.

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

  • Leopold the Cat
    Leopold the Cat (1975)6.9

    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.

  • The Shield and the Sword
    The Shield and the Sword (1968)6.8

    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.

  • 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.

  • Long Road in the Dunes
    Long Road in the Dunes (1982)6.5

  • State Border
    State Border (1980)6.4

  • Born of Revolution
    Born of Revolution (1974)6.3

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

  • Eternal Call
    Eternal Call (1976)5.7

    A saga about the life of the Siberian Savelyev family during the period 1902 through the 1960s as they survive through three wars, a revolution, and Soviet government approval.

  • Conscience
    Conscience (1974)3.3