# 2020–21 Russian Premier League

The 2020–21 Russian Premier League（known as the Tinkoff Russian Premier League, also written as Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga for sponsorship reasons）was the 29th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 19th under the current Russian Premier League name.

## Teams

As in the previous season, 16 teams are playing in the 2020–21 season. After the 2019–20 season, Orenburg and Krylia Sovetov were relegated to the 2020–21 Russian Football National League. Both return to the second tier after a two-year stay in the top tier. They were replaced by Rotor and Khimki, the winners and runners up of the 2019–20 Russian Football National League. Rotor Volgograd returned to the Premier League after a 16-year absence, while Khimki returned after an 11-year absence.

### Venues

| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Rotor | Khimki | Rostov |
| Krestovsky Stadium | Volgograd Arena | Arena Khimki | Rostov Arena |
| Capacity: 67,800 | Capacity: 45,568 | Capacity: 18,636 | Capacity: 45,000 |
| Spartak Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Ural Yekaterinburg |
| Otkritie Arena | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Central Stadium |
| Capacity: 44,307 | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Capacity: 35,696 |
| Krasnodar | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Akhmat Grozny |
| Krasnodar Stadium | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Akhmat-Arena |
| Capacity: 34,291 | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Capacity: 30,597 |
| CSKA Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| VEB Arena | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | RZD Arena |
| Capacity: 30,457 | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Capacity: 27,320 |
| Sochi | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Tambov |
| Fisht Olympic Stadium | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Mordovia Arena |
| Capacity: 47,659 | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | KrasnodarRotorRostovAkhmatZenitArsenalCSKADynamoLokomotivSpartakKhimkiRubinUfaTambovUralSochiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Russian Premier League DynamoLokomotivSpartakCSKAKhimkiclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020-21 Russian Premier League in Moscow | Capacity: 44,442 |
| Arsenal Tula | Dynamo Moscow | Ufa | Rubin Kazan |
| Arsenal Stadium | VTB Arena | Neftyanik Stadium | Ak Bars Arena |
| Capacity: 20,048 | Capacity: 26,319 | Capacity: 15,132 | Capacity: 45,093 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Location | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Akhmat | Grozny | Andrei Talalayev | Bernard Berisha | Adidas | Akhmat Foundation |
| Arsenal | Tula | Dmytro Parfenov | Yevgeni Lutsenko | Adidas | SPLAV |
| CSKA | Moscow | Ivica Olić | Igor Akinfeev | Joma | X-Holding |
| Dynamo | Moscow | Sandro Schwarz | Anton Shunin | Kelme | VTB |
| Khimki | Khimki | Igor Cherevchenko | Dmitri Tikhiy | Puma | Parimatch |
| Krasnodar | Krasnodar | Viktor Goncharenko | Matvei Safonov | Puma | 1XBET |
| Lokomotiv | Moscow | Marko Nikolić | Vedran Ćorluka | Adidas | RZhD |
| Rostov | Rostov-on-Don | Valeri Karpin | Maksim Osipenko | Puma | TNS Energo |
| Rotor | Volgograd | Yuri Baturenko | Sergei Makarov | Nike | Marathonbet |
| Rubin | Kazan | Leonid Slutsky | Filip Uremović | Jako | TAIF |
| Sochi | Sochi | Vladimir Fedotov | Soslan Dzhanayev | Nike | |
| Spartak | Moscow | Domenico Tedesco | Georgi Dzhikiya | Nike | Lukoil |
| Tambov | Tambov | Sergei Pervushin | Aleksandr Denisov | Nike | Parimatch |
| Ufa | Ufa | Aleksei Stukalov | Bojan Jokić | Joma | BetBoom |
| Ural | Yekaterinburg | Yuri Matveyev | Denys Kulakov | Nike | TMK |
| Zenit | Saint Petersburg | Sergei Semak | Dejan Lovren | Nike | Gazprom |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Akhmat Grozny | Igor Shalimov | Contract expired | 26 July 2020 | Off-season | Andrei Talalayev | 26 July 2020 | Off-season |
| Khimki | Sergei Yuran | Fired | 1 August 2020 | Off-season | Dmitri Gunko | 1 August 2020 | Off-season |
| Khimki | Dmitri Gunko | Mutual consent | 21 September 2020 | 15th | Igor Cherevchenko | 25 September 2020 | 15th |
| Dynamo | Kirill Novikov | Resigned | 29 September 2020 | 9th | Alyaksandr Kulchy (caretaker) | 29 September 2020 | 9th |
| Ufa | Vadim Evseev | Mutual consent | 7 October 2020 | 15th | Rashid Rakhimov | 11 October 2020 | 15th |
| Dynamo | Alyaksandr Kulchy (caretaker) | End of role | 14 October 2020 | 6th | Sandro Schwarz | 14 October 2020 | 6th |
| Arsenal | Sergei Podpaly | Fired | 2 November 2020 | 13th | Dmytro Parfenov | 2 November 2020 | 13th |
| Rotor | Alyaksandr Khatskevich | Fired | 19 March 2021 | 13th | Yuri Baturenko | 20 March 2021 | 13th |
| CSKA | Viktor Goncharenko | Mutual consent | 22 March 2021 | 5th | Ivica Olić | 23 March 2021 | 5th |
| Ufa | Rashid Rakhimov | Resigned | 3 April 2021 | 15th | Nikolai Safronidi (caretaker) | 3 April 2021 | 15th |
| Krasnodar | Murad Musayev | Resigned | 3 April 2021 | 10th | Viktor Goncharenko | 6 April 2021 | 10th |
| Ufa | Nikolai Safronidi (caretaker) | End of role | 9 April 2021 | 15th | Aleksei Stukalov | 9 April 2021 | 15th |

## Tournament format and regulations
### Basic

The 16 teams were playing a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches was played, with 30 matches played by each team.

### Promotion and relegation

The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL 2021–22, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the 2021–22 season.
The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL 2020–21 teams respectively in two (home-and-away) playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2021–22 season. In case one of the Premier League teams that finish 13th and 14th will not pass licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season, the other Premier League club will remain in the league, and the 3rd and 4th FNL teams will play each other in a two-game playoff for the remaining spot. In case one of the FNL teams that finish 3rd and 4th will not pass licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season, the team that finished Premier League in 13th place will remain in the league, and the team that finished 14th will play the FNL team that passed licensing in a two-game playoff, with the winner securing the Premier League spot. In case only two of the clubs otherwise eligible for the playoffs pass licensing for the 2020–21 season, the playoffs will not be held and the clubs that passed licensing will get the Premier League spots. In case any teams otherwise eligible for the 2021–22 Premier League (including the top 2 2020–21 FNL clubs) will not pass licensing or will be unable to participate in the season for any other reason, the spots will be passed on to the teams that lost in the playoffs, in order of their 2020–21 league position, with the Premier League positions considered higher than FNL positions (for example, if 13th Premier League team and 3rd FNL team lose in the playoffs, the spot will go to the 13th Premier League team). If, after following these procedures, there are still 2021–22 Premier League spots available (in case 3 or more teams otherwise qualified are unable to participate), the remaining replacements will be chosen by the Russian Football Union with agreement of the Premier League and FNL.
2nd and 4th FNL teams (FC Orenburg and FC Alania Vladikavkaz) failed licensing for the 2021–22 Premier League season (due to lack of acceptable stadium), their appeal was denied on 12 May 2021. On 15 May 2021, Russian Football Union confirmed that the relegation playoffs will not be held. RFU also amended the playoff regulations accordingly. If the original version of the regulations was followed to the letter, FC Nizhny Novgorod would have faced FC Arsenal Tula in a home-and-away playoff series, and then the loser of the series would be promoted into the Premier League anyway, rendering the playoffs meaningless.

## Season events

On 13 September 2020, the league cancelled the game between FC Rotor Volgograd and FC Krasnodar due to more than 7 positive COVID-19 tests among the Rotor players and staff. On 16 September 2020, Russian Football Union assigned a 3–0 victory to Krasnodar. On 18 September 2020, the league cancelled the game between FC Rostov and Rotor originally scheduled for 19 September due to continuing positive virus tests at Rotor. On 22 September 2020, Russian Football Union assigned a 3–0 victory to Rostov.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Zenit Saint Petersburg (C) | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 76 | 26 | +50 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 57 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 4 | Rubin Kazan | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Sochi | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 6 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 50 | |
| 7 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 50 | |
| 8 | Khimki | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 45 | |
| 9 | Rostov | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 43 | |
| 10 | Krasnodar | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 41 | |
| 11 | Akhmat Grozny | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 40 | |
| 12 | Ural Yekaterinburg | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 26 | 36 | −10 | 34 | |
| 13 | Ufa | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 26 | 46 | −20 | 25 | |
| 14 | Arsenal Tula | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 28 | 51 | −23 | 23 | |
| 15 | Rotor Volgograd (R) | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 15 | 52 | −37 | 22 | Relegation to Football National League |
| 16 | Tambov (D) | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 65 | −46 | 13 | Dissolved after the season |
* ↑ FC Lokomotiv Moscow qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2020–21 Russian Cup. The Europa Conference League spot awarded to the third-placed team is passed to fourth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team is passed to fifth-placed team.
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Rubin 3, Sochi 3. Overall matches won: Rubin 16, Sochi 15.
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: CSKA 3, Dynamo 3. Head-to-head goal difference: CSKA +1, Dynamo -1.
* ↑ On 19 May 2021, FC Tambov announced that most of the staff and players were released from their contracts and the club began the process of liquidation.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AKH | ARS | CSK | DYN | KHI | KRA | LOK | ROS | ROT | RUB | SOC | SPA | TAM | UFA | URA | ZEN |
| Akhmat Grozny | — | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Arsenal Tula | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2–0 | 5–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Khimki | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Krasnodar | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 7–2 | — | 5–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Rostov | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Rotor Volgograd | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Rubin Kazan | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Sochi | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | — | 5–1 | 0–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| Tambov | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–5 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 |
| Ufa | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Ural Yekaterinburg | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 5–1 | — |

### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Spartak Moscow | 7 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rubin Kazan | 12 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Sochi | 8 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| CSKA Moscow | 4 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Khimki | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Rostov | 6 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Krasnodar | 1 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Akhmat Grozny | 10 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| Ural Yekaterinburg | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Ufa | 16 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| Arsenal Tula | 9 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Rotor Volgograd | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Tambov | 11 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of matches played on 16 May 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Artem Dzyuba | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 20 |
| 2 | Sardar Azmoun | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 19 |
| 3 | Jordan Larsson | Spartak Moscow | 15 |
| 4 | Đorđe Despotović | Rubin Kazan | 14 |
| 4 | Aleksandr Sobolev | Spartak Moscow | 14 |
| 6 | Christian Noboa | Sochi | 12 |
| 7 | Nikola Vlašić | CSKA Moscow | 11 |
| 8 | Marcus Berg | Krasnodar | 9 |
| 8 | Vladimir Ilyin | Akhmat Grozny | 9 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Krychowiak | Lokomotiv Moscow | 9 |
| 8 | Ezequiel Ponce | Spartak Moscow | 9 |
| 8 | Anton Zabolotny | Sochi | 9 |

## Season awards
### Russian Football Union awards

On 15 July 2021, Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:
Other awards announced by RFU on the same day included:
* Best player: Sardar Azmoun (Zenit)
* Best coach: Sergei Semak (Zenit)
* Best team: FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
* Hope award (Best Under-21 player): Arsen Zakharyan (Dynamo)
* For contribution to football development: Yevgeni Giner (CSKA)

### Russian Premier League awards

* Player of the season: Sardar Azmoun (Zenit)
* Coach of the season: Sergei Semak (Zenit)
* Goal of the season: Denis Makarov (Rubin 2–1 Zenit, 8 March 2021)
* Young player of the season: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Rubin)
* Goalkeeper of the season: Guilherme (Lokomotiv)