# Russian Second League

The Russian Second League (Russian: Первенство России II дивизиона ФНЛ), formerly the Russian Professional Football League are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional football.

## History

In 1998–2010, it was run by the Professional Football League. The 2011–12 season was run by the Department of Professional Football of the Russian Football Union (Russian: Департамент профессионального футбола Российского футбольного союза (ДПФ РФС), Departament professional'nogo futbola Rossijskogo futbol'nogo soyuza [DPF RFS]). From 2013 to 2021 season the league was again run by the Professional Football League and the name Second Division was no longer used, the league was just called PFL. Before the 2021–22 season, the league was merged organizationally with the second-tier First League and renamed to FNL2. Before the 2022–23 season, its short name was changed again, to a historical name "Russian Second League", even though the league's full title ("Second Division of the Football National League") remained the same.
The Second League was geographically divided into 4 zones: 1 (ex-South - Southern European Russia), 2 (ex-West - Western European Russia and Eastern Siberia), 3 (ex-Centre - Northern and Eastern European Russia and Sakhalin), 4 (ex-Ural-Povolzhye - Southern Urals and Western Siberia). The number of clubs in each zone varied between years. In the 2020–21 season, there were 64 clubs in the division.
The winners of each zone were automatically promoted to the Russian First League (known before 2011 as the First Division and from 2011 to 2022 as Russian Football National League). The bottom finishers of each zone lost professional status and were relegated to the Russian Amateur Football League. The teams typically could avoid relegation as long as they still have necessary financing to stay in the FNL2. Each club plays its opponents twice home and away.
For the 2023–24 season, the league was reorganized once again and split into two tiers - third-tier Russian Second League Division A and fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B.
Division A consists of two groups of 10 teams each - Gold Group and Silver Group. In the first stage of the season (summer/autumn), each team in the Gold and Silver groups plays each other team in the same group twice, home-and-away, for 18 games in total for each team.
For the second stage of the season (spring/summer), Groups are re-constituted. Gold Group now includes the top 6 first-stage Gold Group teams and top 4 first-stage Silver Group teams. Silver Group includes bottom 4 first-stage Gold Group teams, 5th and 6th-placed first-stage Silver Group teams and four winners of the Division B groups. Bottom 2 first-stage Silver Group teams are relegated to Division B. 7th and 8th first-stage Silver Group teams play in relegation play-offs against the previous season's bottom two second-stage Silver Group teams, with the losers of the play-offs relegated to Division B and the winners remaining in Division A Silver Group for the second stage. The teams in re-constituted groups play each other twice more for 18 more games. Top 2 Gold Group teams at the end of the season are promoted to the Russian First League for the next season. The 3rd-placed Gold Group team plays in promotion play-offs (two games, home-and-away) against the team that finishes first in the Gold Group in the first stage of the season (or second-placed first-stage team if the first-place first-stage team finishes in the top 2 or the bottom 4 in the second stage, or third-placed first-stage team if the second-place first-stage team also finishes in the top 2 or the bottom 4 in the second stage), the winner of those play-offs is also promoted to the Russian First League. The bottom four teams in the Gold Group at the end of the season are moved to Silver Group for the next season, and the top four teams in the Silver Group are moved to the Gold Group.
Division B consists of four groups, mostly based on geography (1, 2, 3, 4). The winners of groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 are promoted to the Division A Silver Group for the spring/summer part of the Division A season. Division B switched to the spring-to-autumn cycle, the season is played from March to November.
The rotation between Division A and Division B is happening in the winter, as described above.

## Current Teams
### Second League A

| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
| FK Dinamo Bryansk | Bryansk | Stadion Dinamo | 10,100 | Konstantin Sineokov |
| FK Irtysh Omsk | Omsk | Stadion Krasnaya Zvezda | 4,655 | Maksim Mishatkin |
| FK Khimik Dzerzhinsk | Dzerzhinsk | Stadion Khimik | 5,266 | Sergey Perednya |
| FK Krasnodar II | Krasnodar | Stadion Akademii FK Krasnodar | 4,371 | Ilya Valiev |
| FK Mashuk-KMV Pyatigorsk | Pyatigorsk | Central'nyj Stadion Mashuk | 10,365 | Artur Sadirov |
| FK Metallurg Lipetsk | Lipetsk | Stadion Metallurg | 14,940 | Maksim Romashchenko |
| FK Murom | Murom | Stadion Park 50 | 3,000 | Aleksandr Kulchiy |
| FK Rodina Moskva II | Moscow | Stadion Rodina | 10,033 | Filipp Sokolinskiy |
| FK Torpedo Miass | Miass | Stadion Trud | 5,000 | Vladimir Fedorov |
| FK Volga Ulyanovsk | Ulyanovsk | Stadion Trud | 15,000 | Mikhail Belov |

### Second League B Group 1

| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
| Alaniya Vladikavkaz II | Grozny | Republican Spartak Stadium | 32,364 | Aslan Zaseev |
| Angusht Nazran | Nezran | Stadion Central'nyj im. Rashida Ausheva | 3,200 | Umar Markhiev |
| FK Astrakhan | Astrakhan | Stadion imeni Kolosova | 5,000 | Artem Kulikov |
| Biolog Novokubansk | Progress | Stadion Biolog | 2,300 | - |
| Dinamo Dagestan | Makhachkala | - | - | Artem Kashuba |
| Dinamo GTS Stavropol | Stavropol | Stadion Dinamo | 15,982 | Ashamaz Shakov |
| Druzhba Maikop | Maykop | Adygeyskiy Respublikanskiy Stadion Druzhba | 15,000 | Sergey Miroshnichenko |
| Forte Taganrog | Taganrog | Forte Arena Taganrog | 16,500 | Eduard Sarkisov |
| Kuban Kholding | Pavlovskaya | Stadion Urozhay | 3,500 | Dmitri Fomin |
| Legion Makhachkala | Machačkala | Stadion Dinamo | 16,100 | Akhmad Magomedkamilov |
| Nark Cherkessk | Cherkessk | - | - | Arslan Khalimbekov |
| FK Pobeda | Khasavyurt | - | - | - |
| FK Rostov II | Rostov-na-Donu | - | - | Aleksandr Abroskin |
| Rubin Yalta | Yalta | Stadion Avanhard | 4,000 | Aleksey Grachev |
| FK Sevastopol | Sevastopol | SKS Arena | 5,864 | Stanislav Gudzikevich |
| Stroitel Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy | Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy | - | - | Aleksey Korobchenko |
| Spartak Nal'chik | Nal'chik | Stadion Spartak | 14,384 | Timur Bitokov |

### Second League B Group 2

| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
| Luki-Energiya Velikiye Luki | Velikiye Luki | Stadion Ekspress | 3,500 | Sergey Osadchuk |
| Baltika BFU imeni Immanuila Kanta | Kaliningrad | - | - | Anver Koneev |
| Chertanovo Moskva | Moscow | Arena Chertanovo | 4,000 | Sergey Chikishev |
| Dinamo Moskva II | Moscow | UTB Novogorsk-Dynamo | 1,500 | Pavel Alpatov |
| Dinamo St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Malaya Sportivnaya Arena | 3,018 | Aleksandr Fomichev |
| Dinamo Vologda | Vologda | Stadion Dinamo | 8,460 | Rudolf Chesalov |
| FK Irkutsk | Irkutsk | - | - | Konstantin Dzutsev |
| FK Rodina-m | Moscow | - | - | Aleskandr Pavlenko |
| Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast | Ramenskoe | Leon Arena | 16,726 | Vladimir Korytko |
| FK Spartak Moskva II | Moscow | Futbol'noe pole 4 Akademiya Spartak im. F. Cherenkova | 4,000 | Dmitri Kombarov |
| Torpedo Vladimir | Vladimir | Stadion Torpedo | 19,700 | Denis Evsikov |
| FK Tver | Tver | Stadion Junost' | 650 | Vladislav Ternavskiy |
| FK Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | Krasnoyarsk | Central'nyj Stadion | 32,500 | Aleskandr Kishinevskiy |
| Zenit St. Petersburg II | St. Petersburg | Malaya Sportivnaya Arena | 3,018 | Andrey Pocheptsov |
| Znamya Truda Orekhovo-Zuyevo | Orekhovo-Zuyevo | Sportkompleks Znamja Truda | 5,500 | Vyacheslav Lugovkin |
| Zvezda St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg | Stadion Nova Arena | 2,000 | - |

### Second League B Group 3

| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
| Arsenal-2 Tula | Kosaya Gora | DYuSSh Arsenal Stadium | 1,000 | Andrey Kozlov |
| Dynamo Vladivostok | Vladivostok | - | - | Mikhail Salnikov |
| Spartak Tambov | Tambov | Stadion Spartak | 8,000 | Mikhail Pilipko |
| FK Khimki II | Khimki | Stadion Novye Khimki | 3,066 | Branimir Petrović |
| FK Kolomna | Kolomna | Stadion Trud | 3,200 | Aleksandr Kuranov |
| Kompozit Pavlovsky Posad | Pavlovsky Posad | - | - | Igor Rudoy |
| Kosmos Dolgoprudny | Dolgoprudny | - | - | Andrey Proshin |
| Kvant Obninsk | Obninsk | Stadion Trud | 4,000 | Oleg Morozov |
| FK Orel | Orel | Stadion Central'nyj im. V.I. Lenina | 15,292 | Evgeni Polyakov |
| FK Ryazan | Ryazan | Central'nyj Sportivn'yj Kompleks | 20,000 | Yuri Kuleshov |
| Sakhalin Sakhalinsk | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | Stadion Spartak | 4,200 | Yuri Drozdov |
| Salyut Belgorod | Belgorod | Stadion Salyut Belgorod | 11,456 | Viktor Navochenko |
| SKA-Khabarovsk II | Khabarovsk | Stadion imeni V.I. Lenina zapasnoe pole | 1,000 | Marat Khoziev |
| Strogino Moskva | Moscow | Stadion Rublevo | 2,000 | Sergey Zagidullin |
| Zenit Penza | Penza | Stadion Pervomayskiy | 4,000 | - |

### Second League B Group 4

| Team | Home City | Stadium | Capacity | Head Coach |
| Dinamo Barnaul | Barnaul | Stadion Dinamo | 16,000 | Vitali Vikhlyanov |
| Akron Togliatti II | Togliatti | - | - | Renat Miftakhov |
| Amkar Perm | Perm | Stadion Zvezda | 17,000 | Andrey Blazhko |
| Dinamo Kirov | Novovyatsk | Stadion Rossiya | 3,000 | Viktor Bulatov |
| Krylya Sovetov Samara II | Samara | Stadion Metallurg zapasnoe pole | 1,500 | Dmitri Shukov |
| Lada Tolyatti | Tolyatti | Stadion Torpedo | 18,500 | Vladimir Shcherbak |
| Nosta Novotroitsk | Novotroitsk | Stadion Metallurg | 6,060 | Maksim Gerasin |
| FK Orenburg II | Rostoshi | Stadion Gazovik | 10,046 | Maksim Groshev |
| Rubin Kazan II | Kazan | Stadion Rubin | 10,000 | Gökdeniz Karadeniz |
| Sokol Kazan | Kazan | - | - | Sergey Ryzhikov |
| Ural-D Ekaterinburg | Ekaterinburg | Stadion Central'nyj | 27,000 | Aleksandr Dantsev |
| Uralets TS Nizhnyi Tagil | Nizhnyi Tagil | Stadion Uralets | 10,000 | Igor Bakhtin |
| Volna Nizhegorodskaya Oblast | Kovernino | - | - | Oleg Makeev |
| RTsPF NN Elektrika | Nizhny Novgorod | - | - | Valeri Burlachenko |

## Winners

| Season | Zone 4 | Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 2 | Zone 3 | Zone 5 | Zone 5 | Zone 5 | Zone 6 | Zone 6 |
| 1992 | FC Baltika Kaliningrad | FC Erzu Grozny | FC Avtodor-Olaf Vladikavkaz | FC Avtodor-Olaf Vladikavkaz | FC Spartak-d Moscow | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Zarya Leninsk-Kuznetsky | FC Zarya Leninsk-Kuznetsky |
| Season | Zone 5 | Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 2 | Zone 4 | Zone 3 | Zone 3 | Zone 6 | Zone 7 | Zone 7 |
| 1993 | FC Vympel Rybinsk | FC Anzhi Makhachkala | FC Salyut Belgorod | FC Salyut Belgorod | FC Torpedo-MKB Mytishchi | FC Torpedo Arzamas | FC Torpedo Arzamas | FC Devon Oktyabrsky | FC Angara Angarsk | FC Angara Angarsk |
| Season | West | West | West | West | Centre | Centre | Centre | Centre | Siberia | Far East |
| 1994 | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Torpedo Volzhsky | FC Torpedo Volzhsky | FC Torpedo Volzhsky | FC Torpedo Volzhsky | FC Chkalovets Novosibirsk | FC Dynamo Yakutsk |
| Season | West | West | West | West | Centre | Centre | Centre | Centre | East | East |
| 1995 | FC Spartak Nalchik | FC Spartak Nalchik | FC Spartak Nalchik | FC Spartak Nalchik | FC Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | FC Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | FC Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | FC Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | FC Metallurg Krasnoyarsk | FC Metallurg Krasnoyarsk |
| 1996 | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Lada Dimitrovgrad | FC Lada Dimitrovgrad | FC Lada Dimitrovgrad | FC Lada Dimitrovgrad | FC Irtysh Omsk | FC Irtysh Omsk |
| 1997 | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Rubin Kazan | FC Rubin Kazan | FC Rubin Kazan | FC Rubin Kazan | FC Tom Tomsk | FC Tom Tomsk |
| Season | West | South | South | Centre | Centre | Centre | Povolzhye (Volga region) | Ural | East | East |
| 1998 | FC Torpedo-ZIL Moscow | FC Volgar-Gazprom Astrakhan | FC Volgar-Gazprom Astrakhan | FC Spartak-Orekhovo Orekhovo-Zuyevo | FC Spartak-Orekhovo Orekhovo-Zuyevo | FC Spartak-Orekhovo Orekhovo-Zuyevo | FC Torpedo-Viktoriya Nizhny Novgorod | FC Amkar Perm | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk |
| 1999 | FC Avtomobilist Noginsk | FC Kuban Krasnodar | FC Kuban Krasnodar | FC Spartak-Chukotka Moscow | FC Spartak-Chukotka Moscow | FC Spartak-Chukotka Moscow | FC Lada Togliatti | FC Nosta Novotroitsk | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk |
| 2000 | FC Severstal Cherepovets | FC Kuban Krasnodar | FC Kuban Krasnodar | FC Khimki | FC Khimki | FC Khimki | FC Svetotekhnika Saransk | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk |
| 2001 | FC Dynamo-SPb Saint Petersburg | FC SKA Rostov-on-Don | FC SKA Rostov-on-Don | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Svetotekhnika Saransk | FC Uralmash Yekaterinburg | FC SKA-Energia Khabarovsk | FC SKA-Energia Khabarovsk |
| 2002 | FC Baltika Kaliningrad | FC Terek Grozny | FC Terek Grozny | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Svetotekhnika Saransk | FC Uralmash Yekaterinburg | FC Metallurg-Zapsib Novokuznetsk | FC Metallurg-Zapsib Novokuznetsk |
| Season | West | South | South | Centre | Centre | Centre | Ural–Povolzhye (Idel-Ural) | Ural–Povolzhye (Idel-Ural) | East | East |
| 2003 | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Dynamo Makhachkala | FC Dynamo Makhachkala | FC Oryol | FC Oryol | FC Oryol | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok | FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok |
| 2004 | FC Torpedo Vladimir | FC Dynamo Stavropol | FC Dynamo Stavropol | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Ural Yekaterinburg | FC Ural Yekaterinburg | FC Chkalovets-1936 Novosibirsk | FC Chkalovets-1936 Novosibirsk |
| 2005 | FC Baltika Kaliningrad | FC Angusht Nazran | FC Angusht Nazran | FC Salyut-Energia Belgorod | FC Salyut-Energia Belgorod | FC Salyut-Energia Belgorod | FC Sodovik Sterlitamak | FC Sodovik Sterlitamak | FC Metallurg Krasnoyarsk | FC Metallurg Krasnoyarsk |
| 2006 | FC Tekstilshchik-Telekom Ivanovo | FC Spartak Vladikavkaz | FC Spartak Vladikavkaz | FC Spartak-MZhK Ryazan | FC Spartak-MZhK Ryazan | FC Spartak-MZhK Ryazan | FC Nosta Novotroitsk | FC Nosta Novotroitsk | FC Zvezda Irkutsk | FC Zvezda Irkutsk |
| 2007 | FC Sportakademklub Moscow | FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | FC Vityaz Podolsk | FC Vityaz Podolsk | FC Vityaz Podolsk | FC Volga Ulyanovsk | FC Volga Ulyanovsk | FC Dynamo Barnaul | FC Dynamo Barnaul |
| 2008 | FC MVD Rossii Moscow | FC Volgar-Gazprom-2 Astrakhan | FC Volgar-Gazprom-2 Astrakhan | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod | FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod | FC Chita | FC Chita |
| 2009 | FC Dynamo Saint Petersburg | FC Zhemchuzhina-Sochi | FC Zhemchuzhina-Sochi | FC Avangard Kursk | FC Avangard Kursk | FC Avangard Kursk | FC Mordovia Saransk | FC Mordovia Saransk | FC Irtysh Omsk | FC Irtysh Omsk |
| 2010 | FC Torpedo Vladimir | FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | FC Torpedo Moscow | FC Torpedo Moscow | FC Torpedo Moscow | FC Gazovik Orenburg | FC Gazovik Orenburg | FC Metallurg-Yenisey Krasnoyarsk | FC Metallurg-Yenisey Krasnoyarsk |
| 2011–12 | FC Petrotrest Saint Petersburg | FC Rotor Volgograd | FC Rotor Volgograd | FC Salyut Belgorod | FC Salyut Belgorod | FC Salyut Belgorod | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk | FC Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk |
| 2012–13 | FC Khimik Dzerzhinsk | FC Angusht Nazran | FC Angusht Nazran | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Arsenal Tula | FC Gazovik Orenburg | FC Gazovik Orenburg | FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok | FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok |
| 2013–14 | FC Tosno | FC Volgar Astrakhan | FC Volgar Astrakhan | FC Sokol Saratov | FC Sokol Saratov | FC Sokol Saratov | FC Tyumen | FC Tyumen | FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| 2014–15 | FC Spartak-2 Moscow | FC Torpedo Armavir | FC Torpedo Armavir | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC Fakel Voronezh | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC Baikal Irkutsk | FC Baikal Irkutsk |
| 2015–16 | FC Khimki | PFC Spartak Nalchik | PFC Spartak Nalchik | FC Tambov | FC Tambov | FC Tambov | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Smena Komsomolsk-na-Amure | FC Smena Komsomolsk-na-Amure |
| 2016–17 | FC Dynamo Saint Petersburg | FC Rotor Volgograd | FC Rotor Volgograd | FC Avangard Kursk | FC Avangard Kursk | FC Avangard Kursk | FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod | FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod | FC Chita | FC Chita |
| 2017–18 | FC Chertanovo Moscow | FC Armavir | FC Armavir | FC Ararat Moscow | FC Ararat Moscow | FC Ararat Moscow | FC Mordovia Saransk | FC Mordovia Saransk | FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| 2018–19 | FC Tekstilshchik Ivanovo | FC Chayka Peschanokopskoye | FC Chayka Peschanokopskoye | FC Torpedo Moscow | FC Torpedo Moscow | FC Torpedo Moscow | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| 2019–20 | FC Veles Moscow | FC Volgar Astrakhan | FC Volgar Astrakhan | FC Dynamo Bryansk | FC Dynamo Bryansk | FC Dynamo Bryansk | FC Akron Tolyatti | FC Akron Tolyatti | FC Irtysh Omsk | FC Irtysh Omsk |
| Season | Group 2 | Group 1 | Group 1 | Group 3 | Group 3 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 4 | Group 4 | Group 4 |
| 2020–21 | FC Olimp-Dolgoprudny | FC Kuban Krasnodar | FC Kuban Krasnodar | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC Metallurg Lipetsk | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny |
| 2021–22 | FC Shinnik Yaroslavl | FC Dynamo Makhachkala | FC Dynamo Makhachkala | FC Rodina Moscow | FC Rodina Moscow | FC Rodina Moscow | FC Volga Ulyanovsk | FC Volga Ulyanovsk | FC Volga Ulyanovsk | FC Volga Ulyanovsk |
| 2022–23 | FC Leningradets | FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | FC Sokol Saratov | FC Sokol Saratov | FC Sokol Saratov | FC Tyumen | FC Tyumen | FC Tyumen | FC Tyumen |