Prior to the 2019 contest , Russia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 21 times since its first entry in 1994 . Russia had won the contest on one occasion in 2008 with the song " Believe " performed by Dima Bilan . In , Russia finished third with the song " You Are the Only One " performed by Russia 's 2019 entrant Sergey Lazarev . In 2018 , Russia placed fifteenth in the second semi-final with the song " I Wo n't Break " performed by Yuliya Samoylova , making it the first time Russia did not qualify for the final since the introduction of semi-finals in
I Wo n't Break
I Won't Break
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019