Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Russia was Oxana Fedorova. Points awarded in the first semi-final: Points awarded in the final: 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
Eurovision Song Contest 2008 tradition from the 2008 contest and onward, and the ring contains a key from every city that has ever hosted the competition. Due to problems and riots in Belgrade following the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo on 17 February 2008, the EBU held a phone conference to decide if the contest should be moved to a different country. Ukraine was considered an option since they came second in Eurovision Song Contest 2007. YLE were another option, as they hosted the previous year's competition in Helsinki, Finland. Greece's Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT) also offered the EBU to host the contest