Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004


Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Russian entry was selected internally by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia. Julia Savicheva represented Russia with the song "Believe Me", which placed 11th and scored 67 points at the contest.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

In early February 2004, C1R began airing television adverts where interested artists and songwriters could submit their proposals during a submission period. A six-member jury panel consisting of Konstantin Ernst, Aleksandr Fifeman, Marina Danielan, Yuriy Aksyuta, Vladimir Matetsky and Valeriya reviewed all the submissions and announced on 10 March 2004 that Julia Savicheva had been selected to represent Russia. On 19 March 2004, it was revealed that Savicheva would perform "Believe Me" at the 2004 Contest.
Other artists that sent entries for consideration included Smash!!, Anastasia Stotskaya, Dima Bilan, Reflex and Avraam Russo.

At Eurovision

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Since Russia placed 3rd in the previous contest year, Russia automatically qualified to compete in the final along with the Big Four countries and nine other nations that were also successful in the 2003 Contest. 22 semi-finalists competed for 10 spots in the final, joining Russia among the 14 pre-qualified nations. On 23 March 2004, Russia was drawn to perform 14th in the final on 15 May 2004, following Belgium and preceding a slot allotted for a semi-finalist qualifier, which was ultimately filled by Macedonia.
The Russian performance featured Savicheva performing an athletic routine with four male dancers, choreographed by Kamel Ouali. After the voting concluded, Russia scored 67 points and placed 11th. Since Russia was among the top 10 countries, excluding the nations that constitute the Big Four, Russia pre-qualified to compete directly in the final of the 2005 Contest.
C1R chose not to broadcast the semi-final of the competition on 12 May 2004 and therefore, Russia was ineligible to participate in the voting. The final was broadcast on Channel One, with commentary by Yuriy Aksyuta and Elena Batinova. The voting spokesperson for Russia was Yana Churikova.

Points awarded to Russia

Points awarded by Russia

Points awarded by the Russia in the final only: