The budget of the film is $1.5 million. Garri Bardin, being the producer, collected 500 thousand from many sources himself and one million was provided by the Russian Ministry of Culture. According to Bardin, the budget was still so tight that he had to pay salaries to his staff out of the film's take. It is unknown whether he did because, according to Kinopoisk.ru, the revenue from 120 copies made only around $162 thousand.
The bird feathers used in the film are real. When Garri Bardin said in a friendly conversation with Vladimir Shumeyko, ex-chairman of the Russian Federation Council, that he needed feathers for the film, Shumeyko killed his own rooster and gave its feathers to Bardin but it wasn't enough. The film was saved by businessman Andrey Razbrodin, who bought eight sacks of feathers sorted by size for the crew. The feathers were then painted according to sketches prepared by production designer Kirill Chelushkin. Both Shumeyko and Razbrodin are thanked in the credits of the film.