Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, Evrovidenie 2008 (Евровидение 2008) organised by the Russian broadcaster Rossiya Channel (RTR). Dima Bilan represented Russia with the song "Believe", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and won the contest, placing 1st in the final with 272 points. For the 2008 Contest, Rossiya Channel (RTR) was responsible for the selection of the Russian entry, opting to organize a national final. On 8 December 2007, RTR announced a submission period for
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 songs bringing the total number of songs in the semi-final up to 18. The top nine songs of the semi-final advanced to the grand final and BNT added three further wildcards to these, making a final of 12 songs. 100% televoting selected the winning entry which then represented Bulgaria in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. In previous years, if a country placed in the top 10 countries in the final they automatically qualified to the final of the next contest. Had this rule remained for the 2008 contest, Bulgaria would have directly qualified for the final. However, a change in