The ''Little Blue Light'' (russian: Голубой огонёк, ''Goluboy ogonyok'') was a popular musical

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

aired on

Soviet television Television in the Soviet Union was owned, controlled and censored by the state. The body governing television in the era of the Soviet Union was the Gosteleradio committee, which was responsible for both the Soviet Central Television and the All ...

since 1962 during various holidays. The name alludes to the light bluish glare of a black-and-white cathode ray tube TV screen as well as some traditional Russian expressions relating to friendly visits: заглянуть на огонек (''zaglyanut na ogonyok'') – "to drop in on a light", i. e. to visit someone after seeing a light in their window; посидеть у огонька (''posidyet' u ogon'ka'') – to have a sit by the fire. The show featured popular artists and various prominent Soviet people: '' udarniks'', Heroes of Socialist Labor,

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s etc., who sat by the tables in a "TV cafeteria", singing songs, playing sketches, boasting, celebrating the holiday. The idea of the show was that they "dropped in on a light" to every Soviet family to share the festive table beyond the TV glass. The best-known was the ''New Year's Little Blue Light'' (russian: Новогодний Голубой огонек, ''Novogodniy Goluboy ogonyok''), aired on every

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

as a part of the late Soviet tradition: the ''Little Blue Light'' followed the

New Year's speech The New Year Address by the President of Russia (russian: Новогоднее обращение президента Российской Федерации) is a traditional speech given in Russia by the President to the citizens, and generally ...

by the General Secretary of the Communist Party with congratulations to the Soviet people followed by the Kremlin midnight chimes and the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which was, in turn, preceded by the 1975 film comedy '' Irony of Fate''. The ''Little Blue Light'' was devised by

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

Aleksey Gabrilovich, and the first show was aired on 6 April 1962 as a weekly Saturday broadcast. After some time it became a monthly show, and later it was only aired on major holidays. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ''Little Blue Light'' was revived in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

as a yearly special.The New Year Little Blue Light at Shabolovka - 2007
The

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

"Little Blue Light" is now owned by Russia 1, the

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

, where it is still seen today. In the 1970s the typical New Year's LBL episode lasted an hour and a half, since the late 1980s up till today the telecast begins at 12:05 am MST and lasts for three hours.

References

External links

Итоги года и традиции телевизионной новогодней ночи
( Annual Reckoning and Traditions of the New Year's Eve on Television), '' Radio Freedom'', 29 December 2002 {{New Year Russia-1 original programming Entertainment in the Soviet Union Russian music television series Variety television series 1970s Soviet television series 1980s Soviet television series 1990s Russian television series 2000s Russian television series 2010s Russian television series