Russia has been competing in the Eurovision song contest since 1994 when they became a member of the European Broadcast Union, though they have only done it every year since 2000.  In 2000 and 2006, they came in 2nd place, and in 2003 and 2007, they came in 3rd place.  Last year in 2008, they won the competition with Dima Bilan’s rendition of “Believe”, a song with writing credits by the producer Timbaland.  An article in the NY Times describes the winning act: “Dima Bilan, a Russian pop singer with a mullet hairdo, gyrating on stage as Yevgeny Plyushchenko, the Olympic champion figure skater, pirouetted on a patch of artificial ice.”  This year, Russia is hosting the contest in Moscow.