ruPervaya Liga (FNL)

Club from the capital of Bashkortostan, a Premier League side from 2014 to 2022.

Club from Nizhny Novgorod playing at the 2018 World Cup stadium — renamed from Pari NN back to FK Nizhny Novgorod from the 2026/27 season.

Club from the industrial Urals city of Chelyabinsk, playing at the Central Stadium.

Traditional club from Kostroma on the Volga (1959), back among the professionals after a financial collapse.

Club from Krasnoyarsk in Siberia — played a season in the Premier League in 2018/19.

Club from the arms-manufacturing city of Tula, a Premier League side from 2014 to 2021.

The legendary Torpedo of the ZIL car factory — three-time Soviet champions, now fighting to return to the top flight.

Young Moscow club founded in 2016 and named after the Slavic god Veles.

Club from Yaroslavl founded at a tyre factory — "shinnik" means tyre worker.

Club from Olympic host city Sochi, playing at the Fisht stadium — Russian runners-up in 2022, now in the second division after relegation.

Club from the textile city of Ivanovo, a traditional side in the lower professional divisions.

Club from Ulyanovsk, Lenin's birthplace — in the Pervaya Liga since 2025.

Club from Yekaterinburg and a long-time Premier League side (2013-2023) — lost the 2026 play-off to Dynamo Moscow.

Club from Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan, founded at a petrochemical plant.

Famous club from Volgograd that knocked Manchester United out of the UEFA Cup in the 1990s — narrowly missed out on promotion in the 2026 play-off.

Russia's easternmost professional club — opponents fly to Khabarovsk across seven time zones.

Club of the KAMAZ truck maker from Naberezhnye Chelny, a top-division side in the 1990s.

Club of the Leningrad region, based in Gatchina, built on graduates of St Petersburg football.