Which 1975 Soviet television film became an annual New Year's Eve viewing tradition in Russia?

The 1975 Soviet television film The Irony of Fate became an annual New Year’s Eve viewing tradition in Russia.

Directed by Eldar Ryazanov, the romantic comedy follows Zhenya Lukashin after a drunken trip sends him to Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, where an identically named street and similar apartment building create a farcical case of mistaken identity. The film was made for Soviet television and became closely associated with New Year programming.

Its popularity rests partly on its combination of romance, urban sameness, songs, and holiday atmosphere. The story’s apartment-building coincidence reflects standardized Soviet housing, while the characters’ New Year gathering provides the narrative starting point. A common mix-up is treating the film as a theatrical blockbuster from the same era; its lasting status is especially tied to television broadcasts and holiday repetition. A sequel, The Irony of Fate 2, was released in 2007.