# 2015–16 Russian Premier League

The 2015–16 Russian Premier League was the 24th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 14th under the current Russian Premier League name.
Zenit Saint Petersburg came into the season as defending champions of the 2014–15 season. CSKA Moscow won the title on the final day.

## Teams

As in previous season, 16 teams played in the 2015–16 season. After the 2014–15 season, FC Torpedo Moscow and FC Arsenal Tula were relegated to the 2015–16 Russian National Football League. They were replaced by two clubs who qualified automatically from the 2014–15 Russian National Football League, FC Krylia Sovetov Samara and FC Anzhi Makhachkala.

### Stadiums

| Team | Stadium | Opened | Capacity |
| Amkar | Zvezda, Perm | 1969 | 17,130 |
| Anzhi | Anzhi Arena, Kaspiysk | 2003 | 24,859 |
| CSKA | Arena Khimki, Khimki | 2008 | 18,636 |
| Dynamo Moscow | Arena Khimki, Khimki | 2008 | 18,636 |
| Krasnodar | Kuban, Krasnodar | 1961 | 30,889 |
| Krylia Sovetov | Metallurg, Samara | 1957 | 33,001 |
| Kuban | Kuban, Krasnodar | 1961 | 30,889 |
| Lokomotiv | Lokomotiv, Moscow | 2002 | 28,810 |
| Mordovia | Start, Saransk | 2004 | 11,613 |
| Rostov | Olimp-2, Rostov-on-Don | 1930 | 15,843 |
| Rubin | Kazan Arena, Kazan | 2013 | 45,379 |
| Spartak Moscow | Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow | 2014 | 44,929 |
| Terek | Akhmat-Arena, Grozny | 2011 | 30,597 |
| Ufa | Neftyanik, Ufa | 1967 | 15,234 |
| Ural | SKB-Bank Arena, Yekaterinburg | 1940 | 10,000 |
| Zenit | Petrovsky, Saint Petersburg | 1925 | 21,042 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Location | Head coach | Captain | Kitmaker | Sponsor |
| Amkar | Perm | Gadzhi Gadzhiyev | Dmitri Belorukov | Joma | Government of Perm Region |
| Anzhi | Makhachkala | Ruslan Agalarov | Ali Gadzhibekov | Nike | Caspian Flat Glass |
| CSKA | Moscow | Leonid Slutsky | Igor Akinfeev | Adidas | Rosseti |
| Dynamo | Moscow | Sergei Chikishev (caretaker) | Igor Denisov | Nike | VTB |
| Krasnodar | Krasnodar | Oleg Kononov | Andreas Granqvist | Kappa | Constell Group |
| Krylia Sovetov | Samara | Franky Vercauteren | Ivan Taranov | Nike | Government of Samara |
| Kuban | Krasnodar | Igor Osinkin | Aleksandr Belenov | Adidas | RGMK |
| Lokomotiv | Moscow | Igor Cherevchenko | Vedran Ćorluka | Adidas | RZD |
| Mordovia | Saransk | Marat Mustafin (caretaker) | Aleksei Ivanov | Adidas | Mordovcement |
| Rostov | Rostov-on-Don | Kurban Berdyev | Alexandru Gațcan | Joma | Energosbyt Rostovenergo |
| Rubin | Kazan | Valeriy Chaly | Oleg Kuzmin | Puma | TAIF-NK |
| Spartak | Moscow | Dmitri Alenichev | Artyom Rebrov | Nike | Lukoil |
| Terek | Grozny | Rashid Rakhimov | Rizvan Utsiyev | Adidas | Akhmat Foundation |
| Ufa | Ufa | Sergei Tomarov (caretaker) | Azamat Zaseyev | Joma | Bashinformsvyaz |
| Ural | Yekaterinburg | Vadim Skripchenko | Spartak Gogniyev | Umbro | TMK Group Renova Group |
| Zenit | St. Petersburg | André Villas-Boas | Danny | Nike | Gazprom |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Table | Incoming | Date | Table |
| Mordovia | Yuri Semin | Contract expired | 31 May 2015 | pre-season | Andrei Gordeyev | 3 June 2015 | pre-season |
| Spartak | Murat Yakin | Mutual consent | 31 May 2015 | pre-season | Dmitri Alenichev | 10 June 2015 | pre-season |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | Sergei Tashuyev | Contract expired | 31 May 2015 | pre-season | Yuri Semin | 18 June 2015 | pre-season |
| Kuban Krasnodar | Andrei Sosnitskiy (caretaker) | End as caretaker | 31 May 2015 | pre-season | Dmitri Khokhlov | 10 June 2015 | pre-season |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | Igor Cherevchenko (caretaker) | Change of contract | 2 June 2015 | pre-season | Igor Cherevchenko | 2 June 2015 | pre-season |
| Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast | Aleksandr Tarkhanov | Change of contract | 8 June 2015 | pre-season | Viktor Goncharenko | 14 June 2015 | pre-season |
| Dynamo Moscow | Stanislav Cherchesov | Mutual consent | 13 July 2015 | pre-season | Andrey Kobelev | 13 July 2015 | pre-season |
| Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast | Viktor Goncharenko | Mutual consent | 1 September 2015 | 11th | Vadim Skripchenko | 3 September 2015 (caretaker) 22 September 2015 (permanent) | 11th |
| Rubin Kazan | Rinat Bilyaletdinov | Fired | 4 September 2015 | 15th | Yuri Utkulbayev (caretaker) | 6 September 2015 | 15th |
| Rubin Kazan | Yuri Utkulbayev (caretaker) | Caretaking spell over | 10 September 2015 | 15th | Valeriy Chaly | 10 September 2015 (caretaker) 9 October 2015 (permanent) | 15th |
| Kuban Krasnodar | Dmitri Khokhlov | Fired | 16 September 2015 | 16th | Sergei Tashuyev | 17 September 2015 | 16th |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | Yuri Semin | Mutual consent | 29 September 2015 | 16th | Ruslan Agalarov | 29 September 2015 (caretaker) 24 October 2015 (permanent) | 16th |
| Ufa | Igor Kolyvanov | Mutual consent | 21 October 2015 | 15th | Yevgeni Perevertailo | 21 October 2015 | 15th |
| Mordovia Saransk | Andrei Gordeyev | Mutual consent | 7 April 2016 | 15th | Marat Mustafin (caretaker) | 7 April 2016 | 15th |
| Kuban Krasnodar | Sergei Tashuyev | Resigned | 26 April 2016 | 14th | Arsen Papikyan (caretaker) | 26 April 2016 | 14th |
| Kuban Krasnodar | Arsen Papikyan (caretaker) | Caretaking spell over | 4 May 2016 | 15th | Igor Osinkin | 4 May 2016 | 15th |
| Dynamo Moscow | Andrey Kobelev | Mutual consent | 10 May 2016 | 12th | Sergei Chikishev (caretaker) | 10 May 2016 | 12th |
| Ufa | Yevgeni Perevertailo | Resigned | 18 May 2016 | 15th | Sergei Tomarov (caretaker) | 18 May 2016 | 15th |
Last updated: 18 May 2016

## Tournament format and regulations
### Basic

The 16 teams played 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, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2016–17 season.
The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL teams respectively in two playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2016–17 season.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow (C) | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Rostov | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 63 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 61 | 32 | +29 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 4 | Krasnodar | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 54 | 25 | +29 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 50 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 50 | |
| 7 | Terek Grozny | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 35 | 30 | +5 | 44 | |
| 8 | Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 39 | |
| 9 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 19 | 31 | −12 | 35 | |
| 10 | Rubin Kazan | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 33 | |
| 11 | Amkar Perm | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 31 | |
| 12 | Ufa | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 27 | |
| 13 | Anzhi Makhachkala (O) | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 26 | Qualification for the Relegation play-offs |
| 14 | Kuban Krasnodar (R) | 30 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 34 | 44 | −10 | 26 | Qualification for the Relegation play-offs |
| 15 | Dynamo Moscow (R) | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 47 | −22 | 25 | Relegation to Football National League |
| 16 | Mordovia Saransk (R) | 30 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 30 | 50 | −20 | 24 | Relegation to Football National League |
* ↑ Zenit Saint Petersburg qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2015–16 Russian Cup.

## Relegation play-offs

The draw for relegation play-offs scheduling took place on 10 May 2016.

### Second leg

Anzhi Makhachkala won 3–0 on aggregate and remained in the 2016–17 Russian Premier League.
Tom Tomsk won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the 2016–17 Russian Premier League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AMK | ANZ | CSK | DYN | KRA | KRY | KUB | LOK | MOR | ROS | RUB | SPA | TER | UFA | URA | ZEN |
| Amkar Perm | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 7–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Krasnodar | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 6–0 | 0–0 |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Kuban Krasnodar | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | | 6–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Mordovia Saransk | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–6 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Rostov | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Rubin Kazan | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Terek Grozny | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Ufa | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | | 1–4 |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |

### 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 |
| CSKA Moscow | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rostov | 10 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Krasnodar | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Spartak Moscow | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Terek Grozny | 9 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast | 1 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Rubin Kazan | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Amkar Perm | 14 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Ufa | 7 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 12 |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 |
| Kuban Krasnodar | 16 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 14 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 11 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| Mordovia Saransk | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 |

## Season statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Haris Handžić for Ufa against Spartak Moscow (17 July 2015)
* First double: Hulk for Zenit against FC Ural (26 July 2015)
* First hat-trick: Spartak Gogniyev for FC Ural against Anzhi (12 March 2016)
* First poker: Fyodor Smolov for FC Krasnodar against FC Ural (10 April 2016)

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (pen.) | Minutes |
| 1 | Fyodor Smolov | Krasnodar | 20 | 2450 |
| 2 | Quincy Promes | Spartak | 18 (2) | 2470 |
| 3 | Hulk | Zenit | 16 (6) | 2252 |
| 4 | Artyom Dzyuba | Zenit | 14 | 2397 |
| 5 | Ahmed Musa | CSKA | 12 | 2509 |
| 6 | Yevgeni Lutsenko | Mordovia | 10 | 1866 |
| 7 | Maciej Rybus | Terek | 9 (1) | 1740 |
| 7 | Pavel Mamayev | Krasnodar | 9 (3) | 2283 |
| 7 | Sardar Azmoun | Rostov | 9 | 1130 |
| 10 | Oumar Niasse | Lokomotiv | 8 (1) | 1165 |
| 10 | Zé Luís | Spartak | 8 | 1587 |
| 10 | Lorenzo Melgarejo | Kuban/Spartak | 8 | 1559 |
| 10 | Vladislav Ignatyev | Kuban/Lokomotiv | 8 (1) | 1701 |
| 10 | Yannick Boli | Anzhi | 8 (2) | 1889 |
| 10 | Oleg Shatov | Zenit | 8 | 2049 |
| 10 | Aleksandr Samedov | Lokomotiv | 8 | 2430 |
Last updated: 12 May 2016

## Attendance
### Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
Updated as of 1 December 2015
| Team | GP | Total | High | Low | Average |
| Spartak | 9 | 250,773 | 41,850 | 15,051 | 27,864 |
| Zenit | 9 | 151,659 | 18,593 | 14,880 | 16,851 |
| Terek | 8 | 128,229 | 19,780 | 12,470 | 16,029 |
| Krylia Sovetov | 8 | 114,277 | 26,280 | 4,089 | 14,285 |
| FC Rostov | 9 | 112,094 | 14,057 | 10,035 | 12,455 |
| FC Krasnodar | 8 | 97,867 | 25,250 | 4,875 | 12,233 |
| Rubin | 8 | 94,357 | 20,255 | 5,842 | 11,795 |
| Anzhi | 9 | 103,281 | 18,100 | 4,530 | 11,475 |
| Kuban | 9 | 85,218 | 15,213 | 5,517 | 9,469 |
| Lokomotiv | 8 | 72,740 | 14,140 | 5,348 | 9,093 |
| CSKA | 9 | 79,561 | 15,000 | 5,500 | 8,840 |
| Amkar | 9 | 70,440 | 14,800 | 2,350 | 7,827 |
| Dynamo | 8 | 55,661 | 13,500 | 3,623 | 6,958 |
| FC Ufa | 8 | 54,397 | 14,200 | 3,375 | 6,780 |
| Mordovia | 9 | 47,586 | 11,575 | 1,107 | 5,287 |
| Ural | 9 | 47,529 | 9,900 | 2,450 | 5,281 |

### Highest attendances

| Rank | Round | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Stadium |
| 1 | 5 | Spartak | 1–2 | CSKA | 41,850 | 14 August 2015 (2015-08-14) | Otkrytie Arena |
| 2 | 10 | Spartak | 2–2 | Zenit | 41,214 | 26 September 2015 (2015-09-26) | Otkrytie Arena |
| 3 | 12 | Spartak | 1–2 | Lokomotiv | 38,651 | 18 October 2015 (2015-10-18) | Otkrytie Arena |
| 4 | 4 | Krylia Sovetov | 0–2 | Spartak | 26,280 | 9 August 2015 (2015-08-09) | Metallurg |
| 5 | 7 | Spartak | 1–2 | Anzhi | 26,167 | 29 August 2015 (2015-08-29) | Otkrytie Arena |
| 6 | 3 | Spartak | 1–0 | Rubin | 26,163 | 3 August 2015 (2015-08-03) | Otkrytie Arena |
| 7 | 4 | Krasnodar | 1–1 | Kuban | 25,250 | 10 August 2015 (2015-08-10) | Kuban |
| 8 | 2 | Krasnodar | 0–1 | Spartak | 24,956 | 26 July 2015 (2015-07-26) | Kuban |
| 9 | 2 | Krylia Sovetov | 0–2 | CSKA | 23,226 | 24 July 2015 (2015-07-24) | Metallurg |
| 10 | 1 | Spartak | 2–2 | Ufa | 23,221 | 17 July 2015 (2015-07-17) | Otkrytie Arena |

## Season events
### Transfer bans

On 3 September 2015, FC Anzhi Makhachkala was banned from registering new players for debts to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for Igor Denisov's transfer fee. Anzhi's debt was paid and the ban was lifted on 16 December 2015.
On 9 September 2015, FC Dynamo Moscow was banned from registering new players for debts to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for Igor Denisov's and Tomáš Hubočan's transfer fees and to FC Anzhi Makhachkala for Igor Denisov's, Vladimir Gabulov's and Christopher Samba's transfer fees. On 17 November 2015, the ban was re-confirmed due to new debts to former coaching staff (Stanislav Cherchesov, Miroslav Romaschenko and Vladimir Panikov). Dynamo's debts were paid and the ban was lifted on 15 December 2015.
On 10 September 2015, FC Rostov was banned from registering new players for debts to former player Artyom Dzyuba. On 8 October 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to FC Spartak Moscow for Artyom Dzyuba's transfer fee. On 29 October, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to FC Khimki for Ivan Novoseltsev's transfer fee. On 15 November 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to former players Anton Amelchenko and Vitali Dyakov and to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for Pavel Mogilevets's transfer fee. On 8 December 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to former player Hrvoje Milić and to FC Rubin Kazan for Sardar Azmoun's transfer fee. On 11 February 2016, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to player Nemanja Nikolić. Rostov's debts were paid and the ban was lifted on 24 February 2016.
On 24 September 2015, FC Kuban Krasnodar was banned from registering new players for debts to FC Lokomotiv Moscow for Sergei Tkachyov's transfer fee. On 15 November 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to FC Krylia Sovetov Samara for Anton Sosnin's transfer fee and to PFC CSKA Moscow for Svyatoslav Georgiyevsky's transfer fee. On 25 December 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to former manager Leonid Kuchuk and to FC Dynamo Moscow for Stanislav Manolev's transfer free. On 21 January 2016, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to player Yevgeni Frolov. Kuban's debts were paid and the ban was lifted on 26 February 2016, 7 hours before the winter player registration window would close.
On 25 October 2015, FC Rubin Kazan was banned from registering new players for debts to former conditioning coach Yevgeni Bondarenko. Bondarenko and Rubin agreed on the debt settlement schedule and the ban was lifted on 17 February 2016.
On 8 December 2015, FC Amkar Perm was banned from registering new players for debts to former manager Slavoljub Muslin. Amkar's debt was paid and the ban was lifted on 28 January 2016.

## Awards
### Top 33

On 31 May 2016, Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players: