Claim: The Melnitsa Animation Studio released the cartoon Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey with a budged of $2.5 million.
Evidence: On December 23, 2004, the feature film Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey (Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей) was released, directed by Konstantin Bronzit. The film was completed on a $4 million budget, and took in about $1.7 million at the box office.