Russia has submitted films for the American Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1992. Prior to that, Russian SFSR-produced films formed the vast majority of motion pictures submitted by the former Soviet Union. The Foreign Language Film award is handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. Each year, the Academy invites countries to submit their best films for competition, with only one film being accepted from each country.

Before 1992, most of the films submitted by the Soviet Union were Russian. Eight of them were nominated, including three winners: War and Peace (1967), Dersu Uzala (1975), and Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980).

As of 2026, Russia has been nominated seven times, and won once for Burnt by the Sun (1994). Its last submission was in 2021.

Submissions

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since 1956. The International Feature Film Committee oversees the process and reviews all the submitted films. Following this, they vote via secret ballot to determine the five nominees for the award.

Nikita Mikhalkov has been chosen to represent the country five times. Although The Barber of Siberia (1998) was disqualified when the print did not arrive in Los Angeles in time, three other films were nominated. While Burnt by the Sun (1994) was the country first win in the category.

Among the nominated films are: Close to Eden (1992), Prisoner of the Mountains (1996), The Thief (1997), 12 (2007), Leviathan (2014), and Loveless (2017).

Paradise (2016), Beanpole (2019), and Dear Comrades! (2020), advanced to the December shortlists, but were not nominated.

In 2022, the Russian Committee, headed by Pavel Chukhray, confirmed its intention to submit a film. However, days later, the Russian Film Academy announced they would not submit an entry for that year ceremony. Chukhray resigned in protest and said he was not consulted about the decision. Nikita Mikhalkov, alluding to the United States' reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, had previously said, "The way I see it, choosing a film that will represent Russia in a country that, in fact, now denies the existence of Russia, is simply pointless". Since then, Russia has not submitted any new entry.

Following the Russo-Ukrainian war, many filmmakers flew to exile, including Andrey Zvyagintsev, Kantemir Balagov, and Kira Kovalenko (all previous submitted filmmakers), among others. Zvyagintsev went to direct Minotaur (2026), about the country current political landscape, and the film was submitted as the French official entry to the category.

All the films submitted are primary in Russian. Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by Russia for review by the Academy since 1992.

Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Director(s) Result 1992(65th) Close to Eden Урга 1994(67th) Burnt by the Sun Утомлённые солнцем 1995(68th) A Moslem Мусульманин 1996(69th) Prisoner of the Mountains Кавказский пленник 1997(70th) The Thief Вор 1998(71st) The Barber of Siberia Сибирский цирюльник 1999(72nd) Moloch Молох 2000(73rd) His Wife's Diary Дневник его жены 2001(74th) The Romanovs: An Imperial Family Романовы - Венценосная семья 2002(75th) House of Fools Дом дураков Andrei Konchalovsky 2003(76th) The Return Возвращение Andrey Zvyagintsev 2004(77th) Night Watch Ночной дозор 2005(78th) The Italian Итальянец 2006(79th) 9th Company 9 рота 2007(80th) 12 2008(81st) Mermaid Русалка 2009(82nd) Ward No. 6 Палата №6 Aleksandr Gornovsky and Karen Shakhnazarov 2010(83rd) The Edge Край 2011(84th) Burnt by the Sun 3: The Citadel Утомлённые солнцем 2: Цитадель 2012(85th) White Tiger Белый тигр 2013(86th) Stalingrad Сталинград 2014(87th) Leviathan Левиафан Andrey Zvyagintsev 2015(88th) Sunstroke Солнечный удар Nikita Mikhalkov 2016(89th) Paradise Рай Andrei Konchalovsky 2017(90th) Loveless Нелюбовь Andrey Zvyagintsev 2018(91st) Sobibor Собибор Konstantin Khabensky 2019(92nd) Beanpole Дылда Kantemir Balagov 2020(93rd) Dear Comrades! Дорогие товарищи! Andrei Konchalovsky 2021(94th) Unclenching the Fists Разжимая кулаки Kira Kovalenko

See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of Soviet submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film List of Russian Academy Award winners and nominees Cinema of Russia Cinema of the Soviet Union

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