Russian First Division — News

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20 Aug 2027
Friday
Process
13 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Nobody scored more than Nicolás Montiel

The month closes with Nicolás Montiel out in front — 3 goals in 3 games, and Nizhniy Novgorod have the division's most feared finisher.

Scoring charts

Player of the month: Belajdi Pusi — 8.03

Everybody in the division was measured and a Fakel man came out on top: 8.03 across the month and 4 goal contributions. There is no serious case for anybody else.

Market

Maílson agrees terms with Znamya Truda

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Kostroma people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Eldar Ćivić says no to Dinamo Minsk

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Eldar Ćivić had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Scoring charts

Young player of the month: Arseny Filev — 7.34

7.34 across the month and 2 goal contributions from a Chaika player everybody else in the division now has a file on. His price rose this month without anybody at his club lifting a finger.

Market

Stepan Melnikov asks to leave Shinnik

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Baltika turn down BATE for Fahd Moufi

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Scoring charts

Daniil Lesovoy leads the division for assists — 7.84

The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 3 of them made by a Nizhniy Novgorod player marked 7.84, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.

Scoring charts

Highest marks in the league belong to a Fakel man

Belajdi Pusi averaged 8.03 over 3 appearances. Nothing about that will trend, and anybody who watched all four games would tell you it was the most accurate thing on this page.

Scoring charts

Said Aliev keeps the pressure on

2 goals in 3 appearances for Rotor leave him among the month's leading marksmen.

Scoring charts

Belajdi Pusi keeps the pressure on

2 goals in 3 appearances for Fakel leave him among the month's leading marksmen.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: Miro

3 in 3 for Arsenal Tula. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Back issues
12 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Bruno Paulo turns Torpedo Moscow down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Terms done: Artem Pogosov is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Druzhba waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Yenisey is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

Khetag Kochiev puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk, and it is not being withdrawn.

11 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Maílson asks to leave Spartak Kostroma

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Danil Novikov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volga they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Arsenal Tula and Ramazan Gadjimuradov are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

10 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 May 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Maxim Karpov hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rodina can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Only the photograph left for Rostislav Ogienko

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rostislav Ogienko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Yenisey the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Léo Cordeiro has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Ural can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

9 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Alexandr Chupaev is the division’s leading scorer

3 goals in 1 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Spartak Kostroma have the man every defence in the division is planning around.

Market

Albek Gongapshev puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Shinnik, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

HJK come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Torpedo Moscow did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Only the photograph left for Saminu Abdullahi

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Saminu Abdullahi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around KAMAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

Artem Sukhanov says no to Volna

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Artem Sukhanov had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Scoring charts

Nobody made more than Đorđe Pantelić this month

3 assists, 9.19, and a Spartak Kostroma player who spent four weekends being the reason somebody else's name went in the paper. It is the least-rewarded skill in football and the easiest one to notice its absence.

Scoring charts

Vladislav Samko is right behind him

1 goals in 1 appearances for Rodina, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Scoring charts

Đorđe Pantelić up among the month's scorers

A productive month at Spartak Kostroma — 1 goals from 1 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: Matija Popović

1 in 1 for Chelyabinsk. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: Damjan Đokanović

1 in 1 for Chernomorets. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Scoring charts

Iker Pozo keeps making them — 1 this month

7.72 for a Rodina player whose contribution is measured entirely in other people's celebrations. The providers' chart is the one nobody frames and everybody in a dressing room reads.

Scoring charts

Alexandr Chupaev keeps making them — 1 this month

9.77 for a Spartak Kostroma player whose contribution is measured entirely in other people's celebrations. The providers' chart is the one nobody frames and everybody in a dressing room reads.

8 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Nobody scored more than Belajdi Pusi

The month closes with Belajdi Pusi out in front — 4 goals in 3 games, and Fakel have the division's most feared finisher.

Scoring charts

Evgeny Markov is the division's player of the month — 7.78

A club's paper reports this as one of its own being honoured. On this page it is what it actually is: a verdict on everybody who played, and it went to a Ural man on 7.78 with 4 goal contributions.

Market

Terms done: Danil Ladokha is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dobrudzha waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Yenisey is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

Miloš Brnović says no to KuPS

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Miloš Brnović had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Scoring charts

Young player of the month: Matija Popović — 7.40

7.40 across the month and 2 goal contributions from a Chelyabinsk player everybody else in the division now has a file on. His price rose this month without anybody at his club lifting a finger.

Market

Daniil Kornyushin asks to leave Shinnik

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Rodina turn down Lokomotiv Moscow for Iker Pozo

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Scoring charts

The division’s top provider is Brian Mansilla — 8.04

4 assists across the month from a Rodina player marked 8.04. Somebody has to open the door before anybody walks through it, and nobody in the league opened more.

Scoring charts

Highest marks in the league belong to a Fakel man

Belajdi Pusi averaged 8.31 over 3 appearances. Nothing about that will trend, and anybody who watched all four games would tell you it was the most accurate thing on this page.

Scoring charts

Evgeny Markov is right behind him

3 goals in 4 appearances for Ural, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: German Onugkha

4 in 3 for Rodina. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Scoring charts

Dilan Ortíz up among the month's scorers

A productive month at Ufa — 4 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.

7 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

German Onugkha is the division’s leading scorer

5 goals in 5 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Rodina have the man every defence in the division is planning around.

Scoring charts

German Onugkha is the division's player of the month — 7.99

A club's paper reports this as one of its own being honoured. On this page it is what it actually is: a verdict on everybody who played, and it went to a Rodina man on 7.99 with 6 goal contributions.

Market

Iker Pozo turns Ludogorets down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Andrey Mazurin has said yes to Dinamo Makhachkala

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Yenisey have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Scoring charts

The division's brightest kid this month plays for Spartak Kostroma

Ruslan Cherviakov was marked 7.42 and had a hand in 5 goals. Every recruitment department in the country now has a file open, and the club that has him knows exactly what that means.

Market

Joãozinho hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Yenisey can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Rodina say no — this time

The offer from Omonoia for German Onugkha was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Scoring charts

Roman Pasevich leads the division for assists — 7.54

The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 5 of them made by a Sokol player marked 7.54, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: Iker Pozo

4 in 5 for Rodina. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Scoring charts

Maxim Maximov keeps the pressure on

4 goals in 5 appearances for KAMAZ leave him among the month's leading marksmen.

Scoring charts

Dilan Ortíz up among the month's scorers

A productive month at Ufa — 5 goals from 5 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.

Scoring charts

Belajdi Pusi up among the month's scorers

A productive month at Fakel — 4 goals from 5 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.

6 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

German Onugkha tops the scoring charts

Nobody in the division bettered it last month: 4 goals in 4 appearances for Rodina.

Scoring charts

Player of the month: German Onugkha — 8.33

Everybody in the division was measured and a Rodina man came out on top: 8.33 across the month and 7 goal contributions. There is no serious case for anybody else.

Scoring charts

Matija Popović is the month's best young player — 7.85

The award the rest of the division reads as a transfer rumour. 7.85 over the month and 4 goal contributions, from a Chelyabinsk player whose price has just gone up without anybody at his club doing anything.

Market

Daniil Penchikov hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Arsenal Tula can pretend not to have heard.

Scoring charts

The division’s top provider is German Onugkha — 8.33

3 assists across the month from a Rodina player marked 8.33. Somebody has to open the door before anybody walks through it, and nobody in the league opened more.

Market

Ruslan Shagiakhmetov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volga they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Scoring charts

Brian Mansilla is the division's best-marked player — 8.42

The chart that catches everybody a goal tally never will: the centre-half who was immense for four weekends, the holding midfielder nobody outside his own ground has heard of. 8.42 across 4 matches for Rodina.

Scoring charts

Brian Mansilla makes the list

4 appearances, 4 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.

Scoring charts

Martin Sekulić makes the list

4 appearances, 3 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.

Scoring charts

Maxim Maximov up among the month's scorers

A productive month at KAMAZ — 4 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.

Scoring charts

Matija Popović is right behind him

3 goals in 4 appearances for Chelyabinsk, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Market

Still no ink between Arsenal Tula and Ramazan Gadjimuradov

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Arsenal Tula, another week without a signature from Ramazan Gadjimuradov.

5 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Belajdi Pusi tops the scoring charts

Nobody in the division bettered it last month: 4 goals in 4 appearances for Fakel.

Scoring charts

Player of the month: Belajdi Pusi — 7.99

Everybody in the division was measured and a Fakel man came out on top: 7.99 across the month and 4 goal contributions. There is no serious case for anybody else.

Scoring charts

The division's brightest kid this month plays for Yenisey

Lucas Gaona was marked 7.66 and had a hand in 4 goals. Every recruitment department in the country now has a file open, and the club that has him knows exactly what that means.

Market

Khetag Kochiev asks to leave Chelyabinsk

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Scoring charts

Nikolay Giorgobiani leads the division for assists — 7.40

The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 4 of them made by a Fakel player marked 7.40, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.

Scoring charts

Best marks in the division for Belajdi Pusi — 7.99

7.99 on average across 4 matches for Fakel. The chart that notices the players a goal tally never does, and this month it noticed him.

Market

Ural may not be able to give Léo Cordeiro what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Léo Cordeiro wants continental football; whether Ural can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Scoring charts

Brian Mansilla is right behind him

3 goals in 4 appearances for Rodina, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Scoring charts

Miro keeps the pressure on

3 goals in 4 appearances for Arsenal Tula leave him among the month's leading marksmen.

Scoring charts

Lucas Gaona makes the list

4 appearances, 4 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.

Scoring charts

Rodrigo Bacidalupe is right behind him

3 goals in 4 appearances for Ural, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Market

No place for Timur Ayupov in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Timur Ayupov has his answer from Ural; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

4 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Vladislav Shitov tops the scoring charts

Nobody in the division bettered it last month: 6 goals in 5 appearances for Torpedo Moscow.

Scoring charts

Amur Kalmykov is the division's player of the month — 8.08

A club's paper reports this as one of its own being honoured. On this page it is what it actually is: a verdict on everybody who played, and it went to a Spartak Kostroma man on 8.08 with 7 goal contributions.

Scoring charts

Young player of the month: Rodrigo Bacidalupe — 7.48

7.48 across the month and 4 goal contributions from a Ural player everybody else in the division now has a file on. His price rose this month without anybody at his club lifting a finger.

Market

Albek Gongapshev hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shinnik can pretend not to have heard.

Scoring charts

The division’s top provider is German Onugkha — 7.96

3 assists across the month from a Rodina player marked 7.96. Somebody has to open the door before anybody walks through it, and nobody in the league opened more.

Scoring charts

Best marks in the division for Amur Kalmykov — 8.08

8.08 on average across 4 matches for Spartak Kostroma. The chart that notices the players a goal tally never does, and this month it noticed him.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: Rashid Magomedov

3 in 5 for Neftekhimik. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Scoring charts

Amur Kalmykov is right behind him

5 goals in 4 appearances for Spartak Kostroma, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Scoring charts

German Onugkha is right behind him

3 goals in 5 appearances for Rodina, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Scoring charts

Rodrigo Bacidalupe makes the list

5 appearances, 3 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.

Market

Andrey Mazurin is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Yenisey has been clear about where Andrey Mazurin stands, which is more than many ever get.

Market

Talks stall between Shinnik and Yegor Baburin

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

3 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Dilan Ortíz is the division’s leading scorer

5 goals in 4 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Ufa have the man every defence in the division is planning around.

Scoring charts

The month belonged to Dilan Ortíz

Marked 8.20 across it, 5 goals and assists between them, and no serious argument from anybody else in the division. Ufa have had the whole benefit of a month somebody else will spend the summer trying to buy.

Scoring charts

The division's brightest kid this month plays for Chelyabinsk

Matija Popović was marked 8.23 and had a hand in 3 goals. Every recruitment department in the country now has a file open, and the club that has him knows exactly what that means.

Market

Not going: Arseny Filev stays at Chaika

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Montana had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Market

Merabi Uridia asks to leave Fakel

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Sochi come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Ural did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Timofey Kashintsev has said yes to NK Krka

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Neftekhimik have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Scoring charts

Rostislav Ogienko leads the division for assists — 7.11

The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 3 of them made by a Nizhniy Novgorod U21 player marked 7.11, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.

Scoring charts

Highest marks in the league belong to a Chelyabinsk man

Matija Popović averaged 8.23 over 2 appearances. Nothing about that will trend, and anybody who watched all four games would tell you it was the most accurate thing on this page.

Scoring charts

Leon Sabua makes the list

4 appearances, 3 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.

Scoring charts

German Onugkha is right behind him

3 goals in 4 appearances for Rodina, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.

Scoring charts

Miro up among the month's scorers

A productive month at Arsenal Tula — 3 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.

2 Edition

The First Division Courier

1 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Scoring charts

Georgy Gongadze is the division’s leading scorer

5 goals in 5 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Ufa have the man every defence in the division is planning around.

Scoring charts

Player of the month: Dilan Ortíz — 7.76

Everybody in the division was measured and a Ufa man came out on top: 7.76 across the month and 4 goal contributions. There is no serious case for anybody else.

Scoring charts

The division's brightest kid this month plays for Chaika

Arseny Filev was marked 7.40 and had a hand in 4 goals. Every recruitment department in the country now has a file open, and the club that has him knows exactly what that means.

Market

Arseny Filev says no to Podbrezova

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Arseny Filev had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Market

Rashid Magomedov hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Neftekhimik can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Kairat come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Torpedo Moscow did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Scoring charts

Brian Mansilla leads the division for assists — 7.67

The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 4 of them made by a Rodina player marked 7.67, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.

Market

Rashid Magomedov attracts admirers

The name of Rashid Magomedov has come up in conversations Neftekhimik were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Scoring charts

Best marks in the division for Dilan Ortíz — 7.76

7.76 on average across 4 matches for Ufa. The chart that notices the players a goal tally never does, and this month it noticed him.

Scoring charts

Joãozinho makes the list

1 appearances, 3 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.

Scoring charts

Still scoring: Martin Sekulić

4 in 5 for Ural. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.

Scoring charts

Dilan Ortíz keeps the pressure on

4 goals in 4 appearances for Ufa leave him among the month's leading marksmen.