History Main / FakeRussian

* In ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Russian-Canadian teen Zig Novak and his heavily-accented immigrant mother are played by Ricardo Hoyos and Shauna [=MacDonald=] respectively.

* In the [[Film/WarAndPeace1956 1956 American film adaptation]] of ''Literature/WarAndPeace'', the Russian characters are played by actors of various nationalities: the British-Dutch Creator/AudreyHepburn, the Americans Creator/HenryFonda and Mel Ferrer, the Italian Vittorio Gassman, the Austrian Oskar Homolka and the Swedish Anita Ekberg.

* In the 1956 American film adaptation of ''Literature/WarAndPeace'', the Russian characters are played by actors of various nationalities: the British-Dutch Creator/AudreyHepburn, the Americans Creator/HenryFonda and Mel Ferrer, the Italian Vittorio Gassman, the Austrian Oskar Homolka and the Swedish Anita Ekberg.

* Creator/FPSRussia, weapons demonstrator extraordinaire. In one of his behind-the-scenes videos (in which he breaks character and doesn't use a fake Russian accent), he points out that his CatchPhrase that he's a "Professional Russian" refers to the fake that he's professionally pretending to be Russian.

* ''Film/GoldThroughTheFire'': Charles Hanson was American, but puts on a passable Russian accent and speaks a bit of Russian in the film.
* ''Film/RoomInRome'': Natasha Yarovenko is actually Ukrainian.

* Simon the sushi tout in ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}''. His voice actor doesn't even bother himself with imitating Russian accent -- he just uses [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign generic foreign one]], which (as it is Japan, after all) just happens to be English. And besides, he's actually a Russian of African descent.

* The anime adaptation of ''LightNovel/GinbanKaleidoscope'' had a terrific example of this in one of the episodes, where a Russian girl got lost in Japan. Not only is the accent so heavy, a native speaker would barely make out what the characters were saying, but the very way mother and daughter address each other is all wrong. You wouldn't believe it one bit if a mother called her daughter, well, actually "daughter", not by name; and especially the most formal form of the word, in Russian, which allows for tons of milder and friendlier word variations.

* On British TV, Serbian actors Branka Katić and Dragan Mićanović played Russians on the TV series ''Auf Wiedersehn, Pet''. Katić has also played Russians on ''Trial and Retribution'' and ''H G Wells: War With The World''.

** Creator/RadeSerbedzija has made a Hollywood career out of playing Russians (''Film/TheSaint1997'', ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', ''Series/TwentyFour''). He chose that career path when he saw how badly an American actor played a Russian role which Šerbedžija had declined out of a sense of inadequacy. Technically, he plays an Uzbek in ''Snatch'', but everyone still refers to him as "that sneaky fucking Russian".

* Actors from former Yugoslavian countries working in the USA or United Kingdom are usually cast as Russians, mainly because Yugoslavia wasn't behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.
** Rade Šerbedžija has made a Hollywood career out of playing Russians (''Film/TheSaint1997'', ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', ''Series/TwentyFour''). He chose that career path when he saw how badly an American actor played a Russian role which Šerbedžija had declined out of a sense of inadequacy. Technically, he plays an Uzbek in ''Snatch'', but everyone still refers to him as "that sneaky fucking Russian".

* Gru (Creator/SteveCarell) and his mother (Creator/JulieAndrews) from ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''. In the third film, this is continued with Gru's twin brother Dru.

* Maria Tachibana in ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' is half-Russian, though the series plays up her Russian-ness so much that if not for her name you'd never know it's only half (though it's justified by her having a Russian upbringing). Her US voice actress in [[Anime/SakuraWarsTV the anime]] decided to give her a Russian accent, which would have been a nice touch if she could imitate one worth a darn.

** Creator/PeterStormare, another Swede, played a Russian cosmonaut in ''Film/{{Armageddon}}''. He also got to be a Russian in ''Film/BadBoysII'' and ''Playing God''. He was also a Soviet MadScientist in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3''. Apparently he plays a convincing enough Russian to do it over and over.

'''Mike Nelson:''' Hm, I was thinking Fake-istan.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

** Swedish actor Creator/MichaelNyqvist plays the Russian mob boss Viggo Tarasov in ''Film/JohnWick''. Similarly, in ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'', "frequent fake Russian" Creator/PeterStormare plays Abram Tarasov, brother to the aformentioned Viggo.

* A classic example was Illya Kuryakin on ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'', played by the Scottish David [=McCallum=] (who would go on to play Ducky in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'').

** Ensign Chekov from ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'': is a classic example; portrayed by an American, albeit one of Lithuanian descent[[note]]If "Walter Koenig" sounds more German than Lithuanian to you--Koenig's family were Ashkenazi Jews (like half the actors on the [[Creator/WilliamShatner bridge]] of the [[Creator/LeonardNimoy Enterprise]]), so he had a Germanic name[[/note]]. His surname, btw, means 'receipt-son'. Apparently a misspelling of Chekhov, which means 'of Czech descent'.

* Creator/BrianCox as a former Russian spy named Ivan Simanov in ''Film/{{Red}}''.

** Creator/PeterStormare, another Swede, was one of the only good things about ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' with his psychotic cosmonaut character. He also got to be a Russian in ''Film/BadBoysII'' and ''Playing God''. He was also a Soviet MadScientist in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3''. Apparently he plays a convincing enough Russian to do it over and over.

* Mr. Bobinsky in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'', complete with a [[LargeHam funnily overwrought accent]] and surprisingly decent GratuitousRussian.
* Dr. Jumba Jookiba in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'', a [[WordOfGod Kweltekwanian]] alien, is speaking vaguely Russian accent if only because he is a [[MadScientist Idiot Sci-]], [[InsistentTerminology erm,]] EvilGenius.
* None of the voice actors in ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'' is Russian, and their accents (as well as the attempts to speak the language) are wildly off the mark.

*** Creator/GaryChalk, Canadian actor of English birth, plays Russian General Chekhov.

* Ensign Chekov from ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'': is a classic example; portrayed by an American, albeit one of Lithuanian descent[[note]]If "Walter Koenig" sounds more German than Lithuanian to you--Koenig's family were Ashkenazi Jews (like half the actors on the [[Creator/WilliamShatner bridge]] of the [[Creator/LeonardNimoy Enterprise]]), so he had a Germanic name[[/note]]. His surname, btw, means 'receipt-son'. Apparently a misspelling of Chekhov, which means 'of Czech descent'.
* In the ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "Our Man Bashir", Nana Visitor (who plays Kira Nerys) is clearly putting on the most ridiculous faux-Russian accent and having loads of fun while at it[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_fXKgyaQg .]] Explained by the fact that the holodeck program is clearly meant to be a James Bond-replica -- fake Russian accents included (Kira was involved in a shuttle/transporter/holodeck malfunction, which is why she is so in-character).

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Ensign Chekov from is a classic example; portrayed by an American, albeit one of Lithuanian descent[[note]]If "Walter Koenig" sounds more German than Lithuanian to you--Koenig's family were Ashkenazi Jews (like half the actors on the [[Creator/WilliamShatner bridge]] of the [[Creator/LeonardNimoy Enterprise]]), so he had a Germanic name[[/note]]. His surname, btw, means 'receipt-son'. Apparently a misspelling of Chekhov, which means 'of Czech descent'.

* A classic example was Illya Kuryakin on ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE.'', played by the Scottish David [=McCallum=] (who would go on to play Ducky in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'').

* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
** ''Series/StargateSG1'':
*** Dr. Svetlana Markov [sic]; ([[TranslationCorrection corrected]] to Markova in the Russian dub) in the episode "Watergate", portrayed by Marina Sirtis. On the other hand, the two Russian sailors from "Small Victories" look rather authentic, being portrayed by Russians. The one with glasses speaks Ukrainian, almost without an accent. The other one alternates between Russian and Ukrainian. One of them asks what is that noise they hear from the torpedo tube and the other answers "maybe those are the bugs from the [[BilingualBonus previous]] [[NoFourthWall episode]]?".
*** Creator/GaryChalk, Canadian actor of English birth, plays Russian General Chekhov.
*** Captain Daria Voronkova (likely as a nod to the mistake with Svetlana Markov's name, Daniel initially refers to her as "Voronkov") is played by the London-born Françoise Robertson. Canadian Mike Dopud played a Russian colonel in the same episode and would go on to play a number of one-off HumanAlien characters in the show before becoming the regular character Varro in ''Series/StargateUniverse''.
** Averted by Radek Zelenka in ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. He was originally supposed to be Russian, but the producers changed the character's nationality to fit the actor's Czech origins. While actor David Nykl can speak Czech fluently, having been born in the country to Czech parents, he left at a very young age with his family (after the Prague Spring of 1968) and his actual accent is Canadian. That and it appears he's actually been a fake Russian in the past. Nevertheless, Nykl's Czech accent is pretty much spot-on.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Our Man Bashir", Nana Visitor (who plays Kira Nerys) is clearly putting on the most ridiculous faux-Russian accent and having loads of fun while at it[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_fXKgyaQg .]] Explained by the fact that the holodeck program is clearly meant to be a James Bond-replica -- fake Russian accents included (Kira was involved in a shuttle/transporter/holodeck malfunction, which is why she is so in-character).

* Several episodes of ''[[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Law & Order: SVU]]'' feature bad Russian accents, most glaringly "Russian Love Poem" in the first season.
* In an ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode, Creator/SummerGlau played the ghost of a Russian prima ballerina. The accent was fairly decent, as was the ballet--she is a trained dancer.

* The TV adaptations of Creator/JohnLeCarre's "Karla trilogy" feature, among others, Creator/CurdJurgens (German) as an Estonian exile and Michael Lonsdale (French) as a Russian bureaucrat. Also Creator/PatrickStewart is Smiley's counterpart and foe Karla, although he more or less dodges this trope by [[spoiler: having no spoken dialogue.]]
* ''Series/ReillyAceOfSpies'' features New Zealander Sam Neill playing a Ukrainian Jew pretending to be Irish. With TranslationConvention being used throughout, a load of English actors play Russians using British accents.
* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOIUgPKPJPE Russian Idol.]]''

* In the ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' episode "[[Recap/ColumboS2E7TheMostDangerousMatch The Most Dangerous Match]]", the Russian characters are played by Canadians Jack Kruschen and Lloyd Bochner. In a scene, Bochner is speaking "Russian" on the phone - he is actually uttering gibberish lines, not at all sounding like actual Russian dialog.

* British actress Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana Verdansky on ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
* In the first few episodes of ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'', we are led to believe that the character Creator/EnverGjokaj plays is that of Russian mob goon Lubov--of course, [[spoiler:this is only an imprint and he is in fact the active named Victor]]. Worth noting here is that Gjokaj's accent was so good and his name so exotically Eastern-European (though he's actually Albanian) that a lot of viewers never thought to guess his character was anything but what he seemed at first.
** It's also later established that "Victor" is actually American.
* ''Series/BlackBooks'' has an episode with a Russian piano teacher played by Scottish actor.
* The ''[[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Suite Life on Deck]]'' episode "Das Boots" had Sasha Matryoshka, a Russian junior chess champion played by Cody Kennedy.

* On ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', Russian ArmsDealer Alexei Volkoff is played by former Film/JamesBond, Creator/TimothyDalton. His big reveal had him switch to a Russian accent, but he slips back into an English accent most of the time anyway. It starts to make sense when we learn that [[spoiler:Volkoff was actually an English scientist accidentally implanted with the "Volkoff" cover identity during a CIA experiment.]]
* On ''Series/{{Nikita}}'', one of the main characters is Alexandra Udinov a.k.a. Alex, daughter of a Russian oligarch, played by the half-Portuguese Lyndsy Fonseca. They do say that she had lost her accent over time, wanting to conceal her identity. During flashbacks with an accent, the role is played by Canadian Eliana Jones.
* ''Series/{{Alias}}'': Julian Sark is a borderline case as his exact nationality is never directly confirmed. He's played by American David Anders but the character speaks with an Irish-influenced British accent. The character is not British, however, he was merely educated in Britain and spent a lot of time in Galway. It's eventually revealed he's the son of a Russian diplomat and was sent to Britain at a young age to escape from his father's abusive behaviour.
** Andrian Lazarey is a Russian diplomat and descendant of the Romanov family. He's Sark's father and is played by American Mark Bramhall, making him a straight example of this trope.
* Averted on ''{{Series/Deadwood}}'', where the Russian character Blazanov was played by Moscow native Pavel Lychnikoff.
* In ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Russian-Canadian teen Zig Novak and his heavily-accented immigrant mother are played by Ricardo Hoyos and Shauna [=MacDonald=] respectively.
* Happens in-universe on ''Series/{{Bones}}''. In one episode, Booth and Brennan [[ItMakesSenseInContext join a circus]] with a KnifeThrowingAct. The circus director tells them that they need a [[TheGimmick gimmick]], and they decide on "Boris & Natasha and their Russian Knives of Death", complete with Booth/Boris in a humongous fur coat and a fake mustache.
* Sergei Malatov in ''Series/TheWire'', a Ukrainian played by American Chris Ashworth. His last name isn't even a Ukrainian name. [[spoiler:This is likely intentional, as Malatov is part of an international criminal empire led by "the Greek", and most of the Greek's people are implied to be using undercover names and nationalities. At one point the Greek's NumberTwo casually shows another character a whole collection of passports from different countries, all with different names. This tendency towards fake names and nationalities even includes the Greek, who at one point is amused by the fact that the police have no information on him besides [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname his nickname The Greek]]... and he isn't actually Greek.]]
* On ''Series/TheXFiles'', we have Alex Krycek; he speaks fluent Russian and has an obvious Russian-sounding name, but claims his parents were 'Cold War immigrants') played by Canadian actor Creator/NicholasLea.
** Krycek is not a very "Russian" sounding name, but more like corruption of a Czech or Slovak name.

* Mike Nelson as a Soviet cosmonaut in a Joel-era episode of ''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]]''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMWO1PotmAA Say "hello" to ''Sari Andropoli!'']]. This bit is also a case of {{Foreshadowing}} and HilariousInHindsight for obvious reasons (go to around 1 hr. 14 min. in the video).
* The Russian [[Film/TheUsualSuspects Keyser Söze]] {{Expy}} Berlin (Milos Kirchoff) on ''Series/TheBlacklist'' is portrayed by the Swedish Creator/PeterStormare, who has a history of being TypeCast as this kind of character.
* ''Series/TheAmericans'' : Played straight by the protagonist couple ([[Creator/KeriRussell an American]] and [[Creator/MatthewRhys a Welshman]]) and the handlers ([[Creator/MargoMartindale Claudia]] and [[Creator/FrankLangella Gabriel]]), averted otherwise by most of the supporting Soviet roles. The creative team had an official rule in place that the roles were to be played by Russian actors who spoke the language fluently.
* ''Series/HouseofCardsUS'' features Danish actor Creator/LarsMikkelsen as Valdimir Putin {{Expy}} Viktor Petrov.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' has most Russians are played by non-Russians:
** Anatoliy is played by the Czech-Canadian actor David Nykl (known to ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' fans as Dr. Radek Zelenka).
** Gregor is played by David Meunier (American).
** Viktor is played by a Canadian actor (Mike Dopud).
** Kovar is played by the Swedish Creator/DolphLundgren (AKA [[Film/RockyIV Ivan Drago]]).
** Isabel Rochev is played by Creator/SummerGlau.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Russian brothers Anatoly and Vladimir Ranskahov in season 1 are respectively played by the very much American Gideon Emery and Australian Nikolai Nikoleff.
* ''Series/{{Barry}}'': Glenn Fleshler and Anthony Carrigan play Chechen mobsters…with Yugoslav names.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' featured English actress Clare Jenkins putting on a fake Russian accent to play crewmember Tanya Lernov, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E7TheWheelInSpace The Wheel in Space]]". She was just one of the many British actors putting on a fake accent to play a member of the multinational crew of the Wheel space station in that story. Jenkins would briefly reprise her role the following season in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames The War Games]]".

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** Ensign Chekov from ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'' is a classic example; portrayed by an American, albeit one of Lithuanian descent. His surname, btw, means 'receipt-son'. Apparently a misspelling of Chekhov, which means 'of Czech descent'.
** Creator/AntonYelchin's [[Film/StarTrek2009 version]] is a borderline case; Yelchin ''was'' Russian, but came to America as a young enough child that he didn't normally have a Russian accent at all when speaking English. He was also doing it in homage to Chekov.
** If "Walter Koenig" sounds more German than Lithuanian to you--Koenig's family were Ashkenazi Jews (like half the actors on the [[Creator/WilliamShatner bridge]] of the [[Creator/LeonardNimoy Enterprise]]), so he had a Germanic name.
** Walter could actually do a realistic Russian accent. He actually did during an audition, but Roddenberry told him the accent "wasn't strong enough" and instructed him to "ham it up". For the V pronounced as W thing he was inspired by his grandfather, who he says had the same difficulty (albeit not to the extent that Chekov does).

* The classic example is Ensign Chekov from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', portrayed by an American, albeit one of Lithuanian descent. His surname, btw, means 'receipt-son'. Apparently a misspelling of Chekhov, which means 'of Czech descent'.

* Dexter (voiced by Creator/Christine Cavanaugh) from ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', despite, in fact, being American himself, speaks with an affectionate Russian accent, since all well-known scientists have some kind of European accent. Series creator, Creator/GenndyTartakovsky, was born in the Soviet Union himself, and has stated that Dexter's accent was based on his own from his childhood.