awards during the Soviet era. With 34.5 million viewers, it was one of the most popular films of 1970, but it lost the 1970 USSR State Prize to By the Lake. Only in 1998 was it awarded the state prize by President Boris Yeltsin, being recognized as culturally significant. The film received limited attention in the West. It was shown at a Soviet film festival at the little Carnegie Theatre in 1973, meant to tie in with Leonid Brezhnev's visit to the United States. Other than that, it was not widely released. Roger Greenspun, the New York Times movie critic, referred to it as "escapist entertainment". Legacy In 1998, the creators of the film were awarded the 1997 Russian Federation State Prize in Literature and Arts, nearly 30 years after the film left the silver screen. A Russian computer game was released based on the film. Vereschagin became a symbol of a customs officer, with monuments honoring him erected in Amvrosiivka (2001), Kurgan (2007), Moscow (2008) and Luhansk (2011). Monuments of Sukhov are known in Donetsk (ca. 2009) and Samara (2012) All crew members boarding Russian space flights are committed to watch "White Sun of the Desert" before the launch, and the names of Abdullah's wives are assigned to several craters on Venus. In 2008, Rustam Ibragimbekov announced that he had begun production on a White Sun of the Desert TV spinoff entitled "White Sun of the Desert – Home". Popular quotes Many popular sayings have entered the Russian language from the film. The first is by far the best known. The Orient is a delicate matter (Восток — дело тонкое); refers to any complicated or difficult matter, not necessarily "oriental" in nature. I feel ashamed for the great state (Мне за державу обидно); used in the face of failure of the state or collapse of its institutions. This phrase, among other things, was used as the title of several books by notable writers. Are there questions? No, there aren't! (Вопросы есть? Вопросов нет!); refers to the commanding tone of an officer that will not hear objections to his command. This line was reused in the 2005 Afghanistan war epic The 9th Company. Customs gives the green light (Таможня дает добро!); refers to any type of approval, especially reluctant approval. His grenades are the wrong caliber (Да гранаты у него не той системы); refers to or to comment upon any