Russian TV reassures viewers after Soviet holiday special ‘cancelled’

Media outlets have rushed to reassure panicked Russians that the country’s classic Soviet films will still be shown over the holiday period despite a scheduling shake up.

Soviet film lovers had their holiday hopes dashed after Russia’s Channel One revealed it would not be screening the Soviet New Year’s classic The Irony of Fate (or Enjoy Your Bath) for the first time in a decade.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster told Snob media outlet that the classic will not be shown on Christmas Eve for the first time since 2007 due to a licensing switch-over.

The channel will instead be showing other Soviet classics, including Kidnapping, Caucasian Style and Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future.

But Russian movie fans don’t need to panic yet: the film will still be shown over the holiday period on Russia-1, which now holds the broadcasting rights.

Released in 1976, The Irony of Fate won legions of fans with its light-hearted satire and festive love story. The plot pokes fun at uniform Soviet architecture and design with the story of a man who mistakenly wakes up in the wrong city, but walks to an unknown apartment believing it is his own. The movie has become a Russian holiday staple and remains traditional must-watch viewing over the holiday period.

The film is avaliable in Russian online on the Mosfilm YouTube channel here.