Russian Premier League

Lore & Background

The Russian Premier League was formed at the end of 2001, replacing the Russian Top Division that had operated from 1992 to 2001. The Top Division itself began after the Soviet Union's dissolution, with six Russian teams from the 1991 Soviet Top League supplemented by 14 others to create a 20-team competition. The number of teams was reduced to 18 in 1993 and to 16 in 1994, a format that has largely remained except for a brief experiment with 18 teams in 1996 and 1997. Spartak Moscow dominated the early years, winning nine of the first ten titles, with Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz breaking their streak in 1995.

Reader's Guide

The Russian Premier League is significant as the highest level of Russian football, determining the national champion and providing qualification for European competitions until the 2022 suspension. Its champions include Zenit Saint Petersburg (11 times), Spartak Moscow (10 times), CSKA Moscow (6 times), Lokomotiv Moscow (3 times), Rubin Kazan (2 times), and Krasnodar (1 time). The league traditionally ran from March to November to avoid winter weather, but switched to an autumn-spring calendar starting with the 2012–13 season, introducing a three-month winter break. This change increased the number of winter games, particularly affecting teams from the Russian Far East and Siberia. The league also operates a parallel Youth championship for reserve teams, and relegation involves the bottom two teams dropping to the Russian First League, with the 13th and 14th placed teams entering playoffs against National League sides.

Did You Know?

• The league was rebranded from the Russian Football Premier League to the Russian Premier League in 2018.
• Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow, and Lokomotiv Moscow are the only teams to have played in every top-division season since 1992.
• In 2022, all Russian club and national teams were banned from European competition indefinitely, and Spartak Moscow was disqualified from the UEFA Europa League.
• The league has been known as the Alfa-Bank Russian Premier League since July 2022 for sponsorship reasons.