The fledgling Russian games industry has produced some titles like World War Two flight simulators, but Russia's export of games are small compared to sales within the country.

Ten-year-old Ilya Nikiforov fights the Nazis using a Russian game, but there aren't many others like it.

“It would be interesting to have Lenin, for example in a game. Also to play as Stalin. I would want to manage the history of the war, making everything better,” says young gamer Ilya.

“Very serious companies with large budgets are involved in this business in the West. There is state support in the form of tax cuts. A budget for a major game blockbuster is tens of millions of dollars. It's hard to compete, developing games here in Russia. But it is possible, you just need to figure out how to do it,” says Vladimir Kudr, Vice President of Russian Games Developer company.

Help may now be on its way from the Russian state with a move to promote an industry that worldwide already looks like it is outstripping Hollywood.

“There is a gaming industry in Russia that I believe can be very significant for the upbringing of our children. Russian game development exists and we have to support it. We can’t rely on foreign publishers alone,” Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev said.

The Second World War appears to provide most of the subject matter in Russia-related games, so the Ministry of Communications has requested nearly $11 million to help develop six games focusing on the Soviet Union’s Red Army. Part of the reason is education.

“These games help us to learn more about our history. I learned about the tanks, planes and weapons that were used during World War Two. It's better than history textbooks, because you can learn in more detail,” Ilya Nikiforov said.

The move is also part of a wider aim to counter negative depictions of Russia in American designed games. For instance, in the Russian release of recent worldwide smash hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 a level was removed where the player can assist an ultranationalist group in the massacre of civilians at a Moscow airport.