Russian version of the Wheel of Fortune, named Pole Chudes, was very popular in Russia during 90s'. Vladislav Lystjev, hosted it originally, and for the last 16 years the host of the show is Leonid Jakubovich.

The show is still running, Fridays' evenings.

About the Russian Wheel

Russian wheel was really the large cylinder contestants could spin from their places. There were tree contestants on the stage, settled very near to the spinning wheel, or the 'Baraban', or the barrel. There was also the area for displaying the winnings on one part of the stage, and a space for the audience all around.

The game starts with the first round and the first three players. There are three qualification rounds, with 3 players each, and a final round for the qualified contestants. There is also a fifth, bonus round for the winner.

About the Prizes

The prizes are usually some cars, wash machines, or some other kind of appliances. All the prizes are displayed on one part of the stage.

About the Game

There is a big screen with few lines of squares. The highlighted squares are for the letters of the hidden word, phrase or sentence. In the beginning, the theme is announced, and it could be absolutely anything, maybe song and the author, or whatever.

The player has the opportunity to guess the answer in each turn, but he can also choose to open it letter by letter.