Russia has been taking steps to boost its domestic production industry but it has less to offer international shoots. It seems in no real hurry to present itself as more film-friendly to the rest of the world and this will perhaps be impacted by frosty East-West political relations over recent years.
Feature productions with a Russian setting tend to avoid filming in the country for real, due partly to a lack of filming incentives. Countries in Eastern Europe can easily double for Moscow and other Russian cities, complete with experienced crew, more comprehensive infrastructure and generous filming incentives.
Among the country's recent high-profile productions are Oliver Stone's Snowden and the miniseries adaptation of War & Peace, show in Moscow and St. Petersburg respectively.
The country’s reputation for shady dealings persists, but short working days, lengthy downtime and a lack of filming incentives all play a part in making producers reconsider their options.
Siberia was chosen for various reasons. Although the winter climate and snowfall makes running trains undeniably tough in both Alaska and Siberia, in Russia we could travel to the northernmost point in the world reachable by train.”
Alyona Pimanova, Munro Productions
The Russian Federation is a vast country spanning nine time zones so it naturally experiences a huge range of weather conditions.
Its climate is mainly continental, but with arctic conditions in the north. The further east you go the more severe the conditions become. Siberia has long and bitterly cold winters, and has recorded an astonishing low of -71C.
The south has hot summers, high rainfall and cold winters. Spring and autumn are mild and dry.
