Aleksandr Ptushko

Fitil is a popular Soviet/Russian television satirical/comedy short film series which ran for about 500 episodes. Some of the episodes were aimed at children, and were called Фитилёк, Fitilyok, Little Fuse. Each issue contained from the few short segments: documentary, fictional and animated ones. Directed by various artists, including Leonid Gaidai who presented his famous trio of Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov into the cast. It was called in USSR as "the anecdotes from the Soviet government".

Based on Finnish mythology; Lemminkäinen woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi. Louhi kidnaps Annikki to compel her brother to build for her a Sampo, a magical device that creates salt, grain, and gold. When Lemminkäinen fails to recover the Sampo, Louhi steals the sun, plunging the world into frozen darkness.

A seminary student on monastery holiday kills an old witch in a remote village. The hag then transforms into a beautiful young woman whose dying wish is for him to watch over her wake for three nights. With terrors occurring and his faith waning, he reads prayers on the overnight watch and tries to survive the supernatural encounters.

American-dubbed, re-edited version of the 1956 Soviet fantasy film Ilya Muromets. Produced by Roger Corman, it's shorter by 10 minutes, the names of crew members and characters are changed.

A story about a Secretary of the Communist Party District Committee who is leading partisans in their fight with the Nazis during WWII.

In the midst of the wedding party of Prince Ruslan and Ludmila, daughter of Prince Vladimir, the girl is kidnapped by the evil sorcerer Chernomor and the witch Naina. Three of her past suitors set out, as does Ruslan, to rescue Ludmila.

American-dubbed, re-edited version of the 1959 Soviet-Finnish fantasy co-production Sampo. Produced by Roger Corman, it's shorter by almost 30 minutes, the names of crew members and characters are drastically changed and key plot scenes are removed.

Paralyzed since birth, Ilya can only watch helplessly as his village is plundered by barbarians. But when a mysterious traveler arrives with a magic elixir that restores him to full health, Ilya begins an adventure to protect the village and the royal family from harm.

Based on an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, which was based on a Russian epic tale of the same name. In the old Russian city of Novgorod, the merchants are feasting in a gorgeous palace and Sadko is bragging that he can bring to their land a sweet-voiced bird of happiness. They laugh at him, but he is offered help by the Ocean King's daughter, who is mesmerized by Sadko's singing and is in love with him. The hero is destined to visit many lands in his search of the bird.

A group of Russian partisans hiding within a remote forest attempt to destroy a nearby German airfield, all the while assisting a downed French pilot who happens to fall madly in love with a local girl.

Based on a famous fairy tale, in verse, by Alexander Pushkin, this ravishingly beautiful fantasy is about love, magic, betrayal and abandoned family. Driven from the Russian court by her sisters' scheming, the young Tsarina is thrown into the sea in a cask with her infant son. Surviving the storm-tossed voyage, the mother and her now magically-adult son land on a remote island where he falls in love with a Swan Princess in human form, and longs for reunion with his estranged father, Tsar Saltan. Merchants come to the island with news of the tsar, and the prince sends word back to him, but the sisters continue their campaign of lies and trickery to keep them apart.

A little girl Assol met a wizard and it has been foretold: "... it will be a fine sunny day when a beautiful ship under scarlet sail comes and the noble prince will take you away from here. He'll take you to the world of your dreams, where you will be loved and happy." The neighbours told jokes about her, children teased her, but she waited for her prince. She trusted in the miracles and waited. Arthur Gray's rule was "if you can make a miracle, do it!". And he made a miracle for the wonderful romantic girl.

The film deals with a Russian battalion under siege by the Germans during the Second World War.

The true story of one of Russia's most beloved national heroines. During the Nazi siege of Moscow, a fearless 18-year-old girl named Zoya risked her life as a partisan fighter. Captured by the Germans, Zoya endured unspeakable tortures at the hands of the Gestapo but still refused to betray her comrades. Even on the gallows, Zoya defiantly spoke out against the Nazis and everything they stood for. In a series of flashbacks, this film re-creates not merely Zoya's death, but also her life.

Sinbad the Sailor is a Soviet animated short by Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg, released in 1944 by Soyuzmultfilm. The film is based on the Arab fairy tales about Sinbad the Sailor and his incredible adventures in foreign countries.

The son and daughter of a lost-at-sea captain recruit help to find him on the basis of an incomplete note found in a bottle, and encounter adventures in Patagonia, Australia, and New Zealand... Based on Jules Verne novel.

The first Soviet cel-animated feature film, based on the story with the same name by Nikolai Gogol. A messenger is tasked with delivering a letter to the Tsarina, which he tucks into his hat for safekeeping on the road. While resting at night, a band of demons steals the hat, and he must travel to Hell to retrieve it.

The story, a Communist re-telling of Gulliver's Travels, is about a young boy who dreams of himself as a version of Gulliver who has landed in Lilliput suffering under capitalist inequality and exploitation.

Four evil wizards succeeded to become young by using a time stolen from lazy kids. Now these kids who became seniors must act fast if they want to return to their real age.

The film consists of short stories about participants of the Great Patriotic War, who returned from the front and entered a peaceful life. The heroes of the tape are fellow soldiers: Major Kornev, formerly a domain engineer; petty officer Samoseev, in the future chairman of the collective farm; senior lieutenant Rudnikov expects an Arctic expedition, and lieutenant Bela Mukhtarova will go with a party of geologists to the East.