Кто хочет стать миллионером? (English translation: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, transliteration: Kto khochet stat' millionerom?) is a Russian game show based on the original British format of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The show is hosted by Yulianna Karaulova (earlier by Maxim Galkin and Dmitry Dibrov). The main goal of the game is to win 3 million Russian roubles (originally 1 million Russian roubles) by answering 15 multiple-choice questions correctly. There are three lifelines: Fifty Fifty (50 на 50, 50 na 50), Phone A Friend (звонок другу, zvonok drugu), and Ask the Audience (помощь зала, pomoshch' zala). Кто хочет стать миллионером? is broadcast from February 19, 2001, to today. It is shown on the Russian TV station Channel One on Saturdays at 4:55 PM. The show is set in an original format.

Broadcast history

The Russian version of the series premiered on October 1, 1999, on NTV. Initially, the program was called, "O, schastlivchik!" ("Oh, Lucky Man!"), presented by Dmitry Dibrov. The game combines the simplicity of the rules to provide an opportunity to win the top prize of 1 million rubles. The series gained enormous popularity among Russian audiences, and in 2000, was awarded a Taffy award for Best Entertainment Program. On February 19, 2001, the program moved to channel ORT (Channel One) and was renamed to its current title to reflect the name of the franchise. Dibrov departed the show, and was succeeded by comedian Maxim Galkin. On September 17, 2005, the money tree was revised, with the top prize now worth 3 million rubles. On December 21, 2008, Dibrov returned to hosting the show once more and presented the show until June 18, 2022. Production of the program was suspended in 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the show returned with Yulianna Karaulova as the host replacing Dibrov. The original format's distributor is not involved in the production.

Payout structure

Old game's version

Earlier, the game was called О, счастливчик! (O Lucky Man!) and it was shown on NTV. It was broadcast from October 1, 1999, to January 27, 2001. It was shown on the Russian TV station NTV. In 2001, the show was superseded by a second adoption named Кто хочет стать миллионером? and aired on public Russian broadcaster Channel One. For a while TNT broadcast reruns of О, счастливчик! episodes.

Special Events

Notable contestants

Top Prize Winners

Top Prize Losers

Top Prize Walkers

800,000 rubles winners