# List of Soviet films of 1981

| Title | Russian title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes |
| 1981 ||||||
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson | Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона | Igor Maslennikov | Vasily Livanov, Vitaly Solomin, Rina Zelyonaya, Boryslav Brondukov | Crime | |
| Agony | Агония | Elem Klimov | Alexei Petrenko, Alisa Freindlich, Velta Līne, Anatoli Romashin | Biopic | |
| At the Beginning of Glorious Days | В начале славных дел | Sergey Gerasimov | Dmitri Zolotukhin, Tamara Makarova, Natalya Bondarchuk, Nikiolai Yeryemenko | Drama, history | |
| Carnival | Карнавал | Tatyana Lioznova | Irina Muravyova, Yury Yakovlev, Klara Luchko, Aleksandr Abdulov | Romantic comedy | |
| Could One Imagine? | Вам и не снилось... | Ilya Frez | Tatiana Aksyuta, Nikita Mikhailovskiy | Drama | |
| Crazy Money | Бешеные деньги | Vladimir Repnikov | Aleksandr Mikhailov | Comedy | |
| Per Aspera Ad Astra | Через тернии к звёздам | Richard Viktorov, Nikolai Viktorov | Yelena Metyolkina | Science fiction | |
| Everything's Backwards | Всё наоборот | Vladimir Grammatikov | Olga Mashnaya, Mikhail Efremov, Oleg Tabakov | Comedy, Romance | |
| Express on Fire | 34-й скорый | Andrei Malyukov | Vasily Badaev | Disaster | |
| Cheers, My Dear! | Будь здоров, дорогой! | Tamaz Gomelauri | Vakhtang Kikabidze, Nikolai Rybnikov | Comedy | |
| Dusha | Душа | Alexander Stefanovich | Sofia Rotaru, Rolan Bykov, Mikhail Boyarsky, Vyacheslav Spesivtsev | Musical | |
| Faktas | Факт | Alimantas Grikiavicius | Regimantas Adomaitis, Donatas Banionis, Juozas Budraitis | War film | Entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival |
| Farewell | Прощание | Elem Klimov | Stefaniya Stanyuta | Drama | |
| Front in the Rear of the Enemy | Фронт в тылу врага | Igor Gostev and Victor Kulle | Vyacheslav Tikhonov | War | |
| Gypsy Happiness | Цыганское счастье | Sergey Nikonenko | Nikolay Kryuchkov | Drama | |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | Собака Баскервилей | Igor Maslennikov | Vasily Livanov, Vitaly Solomin, Rina Zelyonaya, Borislav Brondukov | Crime | |
| Ladies Invite Gentlemen | Дамы приглашают кавалеров | Ivan Kiasashvili | Marina Neyolova, Leonid Kuravlyov, Natalya Andrejchenko | Comedy, Romance | |
| A Limousine The Colour Of Midsummer's Eve | Лимузин цвета белой ночи | Jānis Streičs | Lilita Bērziņa | Comedy | |
| Lenin in Paris | Ленин в Париже | Sergei Yutkevich | Yuriy Kayurov, Claude Jade | Biopic | |
| Little Alexander | Александр Маленький | Vladimir Fokin | Boris Tokarev | Drama | |
| Muzhiki! | Мужики! | Iskra Babich | Aleksandr Mikhajlov, Pyotr Glebov | Drama | Entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival |
| The Mystery of the Third Planet | Тайна третьей планеты | Roman Kachanov | Olga Gromova | Animation | |
| The Old New Year | Cтаpый Нoвый | Naum Ardashnikov, Oleg Yefremov | Vyacheslav Nevinny, Alexander Kalyagin, Irina Miroshnichenko, Kseniya Minina | Comedy | |
| Say a Word for the Poor Hussar | О бедном гусаре замолвите слово | Eldar Ryazanov | Stanislav Sadalskiy, Oleg Basilashvili, Valentin Gaft, Yevgeny Leonov | Comedy, drama | |
| Starfall | Звездопад | Igor Talankin | Alla Demidova | Romance | |
| The Suicide Club, or the Adventures of a Titled Person | Клуб самоубийц, или Приключения титулованной особы | Evgeny Tatarsky | Oleg Dahl, Donatas Banionis | Adventure | |
| Otvetnyy khod | Ответный ход | Mikhail Tumanishvili | | Action | |
| A Painter's Wife Portrait | Портрет жены художника | Aleksandr Pankratov | Valentina Telichkina | Romance | |
| Plasticine Crow | Пластилиновая ворона | Aleksandr Tatarskiy | Leonid Bronevoy | Animation | |
| Propavshiye sredi zhivykh | Пропавшие среди живых | Vladimir Fetin | | Crime, Mystery | |
| Sashka | Сашка | Aleksandr Surin | Andrey Tashkov | War | |
| Family Relations | Родня | Nikita Mikhalkov | Nonna Mordyukova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Yuri Bogatyryov | Drama | |
| The Sixth | Шестой | Samvel Gasparov | Sergei Nikonenko, Vladimir Grammatikov, Mikhail Pugovkin | Action | |
| Teheran 43 | Тегеран-43 | Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov | Natalya Belokhvostikova, Igor Kostolevsky, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Alain Delon, Claude Jade | Drama | Won the Golden Prize at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival |
| The Youth of Peter the Great | Юность Петра | Sergey Gerasimov | Dmitri Zolotukhin, Tamara Makarova, Natalya Bondarchuk, Nikiolai Yeryemenko | Drama, history | |
| They Were Actors | Они были актёрами | Georgy Natanson | Zinaida Kirienko | Adventure | |
| Three Times About Love | Трижды о любви | Viktor Tregubovich | Sergei Prokhanov | Drama | |
| Easy money | Бешенные деньги | Yevgeny Matveyev | Yelena Solovey | Drama | Film adaptation of Alexander Ostrovsky's play |
| Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky | Двадцать шесть дней из жизни Достоевского | Aleksandr Zarkhi | Anatoly Solonitsyn, Yevgeniya Simonova | Biopic | Solonitsyn won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at Berlin |
| Tree Dzhamal | Дерево Джамал | Khodzha Kuli Narliyev | Maya-Gozel Aimedova | Drama | Entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival |
| True of Lieutenant Klimov | Правда лейтенанта Климова | Oleg Dashkevich | Andrei Rostotsky | Drama | |
| The Vacancy | Вакансия | Margarita Mikaelyan | Leonid Kayurov | Comedy | |
| Valentina | Валентина | Gleb Panfilov | Rodion Nahapetov | Drama | |
| Vasili and Vasilisa | Василий и Василиса | Irina Poplavskaya | Olga Ostroumova | Drama | |
| Waiting for Love | Любимая женщина механика Гаврилова | Pyotr Todorovsky | Lyudmila Gurchenko, Sergey Shakurov, Svetlana Ponomareva, Natalya Nazarova | Romantic comedy | |