# 2001 Russian Top Division

Spartak Moscow won their sixth consecutive Russian title, and ninth overall.
However, the season was overshadowed by the death of CSKA and Ukraine goalkeeper Serhiy Perkhun, when he clashed heads with Anzhi striker Budun Budunov during the round 22 match against them on 18 August. Both players were injured, and Perkhun died from a brain haemorrhage caused by the collision on 28 August in the age of 23, 10 days after the match against Anzhi.

## Overview

| Team | Head coach |
| FC Spartak Moscow | Oleg Romantsev |
| FC Lokomotiv Moscow | Yuri Syomin |
| FC Zenit St. Petersburg | Yuri Morozov |
| FC Torpedo Moscow | Vitaly Shevchenko |
| FC Krylia Sovetov Samara | Aleksandr Tarkhanov |
| FC Saturn Ramenskoye | Vladimir Shevchuk |
| PFC CSKA Moscow | Pavel Sadyrin (until October) Aleksandr Kuznetsov (caretaker) (from October) |
| FC Sokol Saratov | Aleksandr Koreshkov |
| FC Dynamo Moscow | Valery Gazzaev (until April) Aleksandr Novikov (from April) |
| FC Rotor Volgograd | Pavel Gusev |
| FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don | Sergei Balakhnin (until April) Anatoly Baidachny (from April) |
| FC Alania Vladikavkaz | Aleksandr Averyanov (until April) Aleksandr Yanovskiy (from April) |
| FC Anzhi Makhachkala | Gadzhi Gadzhiyev (until July) Aleksandr Markarov (caretaker) (July to November) Leonid Tkachenko (from November) |
| FC Torpedo-ZIL Moscow | Yevhen Kucherevskyi |
| FC Fakel Voronezh | Valeri Nenenko (until May) Aleksandr Averyanov (from May) |
| FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | Anatoly Baidachny (until April) Viktor Zernov (April to June) Sergey Andreyev (June to September) Khazret Dyshekov (caretaker) (from September) |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Spartak Moscow (C) | 30 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 60 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 53 | 24 | +29 | 56 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 52 | 35 | +17 | 56 | Qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 4 | Torpedo Moscow | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 52 | |
| 5 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 49 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round |
| 6 | Saturn | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 47 | |
| 7 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 39 | 30 | +9 | 47 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 8 | Sokol Saratov | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 31 | 42 | −11 | 41 | |
| 9 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 38 | |
| 10 | Rotor Volgograd | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 32 | |
| 11 | Rostselmash | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 43 | −14 | 32 | |
| 12 | Alania Vladikavkaz | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 31 | 47 | −16 | 32 | |
| 13 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 28 | 34 | −6 | 32 | |
| 14 | Torpedo-ZIL Moscow | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 35 | −13 | 31 | |
| 15 | Fakel Voronezh (R) | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 30 | 53 | −23 | 28 | Relegation to First Division |
| 16 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk (R) | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 19 | 54 | −35 | 23 | Relegation to First Division |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALA | ANZ | CHE | CSK | DYN | FAK | KRY | LOK | ROS | ROT | SAT | SOK | SPA | TOR | TZM | ZEN |
| Alania Vladikavkaz | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | 3–2 | | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Chernomorets Novorossiysk | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 1–4 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 6–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| Fakel Voronezh | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Rostselmash | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Rotor Volgograd | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Saturn | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Sokol Saratov | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 2–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Spartak Moscow | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Torpedo Moscow | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 6–2 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Torpedo-ZIL Moscow | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 0–2 |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of matches played on 8 November 2001.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dmitri Vyazmikin | Torpedo Moscow | 18 |
| 2 | Andrei Fedkov | Sokol Saratov | 14 |
| 2 | James Obiorah | Lokomotiv Moscow | 14 |
| 2 | Serghei Rogaciov | Saturn Ramenskoye | 14 |
| 5 | Dmitri Kirichenko | Rostselmash | 13 |
| 6 | Dmitri Loskov | Lokomotiv Moscow | 12 |
| 6 | Vitali Safronov | Fakel Voronezh | 12 |
| 8 | Luis Robson | Spartak Moscow | 11 |
| 8 | Yegor Titov | Spartak Moscow | 11 |
| 8 | Valery Yesipov | Rotor Volgograd | 11 |

## Awards

On 20 November, Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:

### Goalkeepers

* Ruslan Nigmatullin (Lokomotiv Moscow)
* Serhiy Perkhun (CSKA Moscow)
* Maxym Levitsky (Spartak Moscow)

### Stoppers

* Sergei Ignashevich (Lokomotiv Moscow)
* Aleksei Katulsky (Zenit)
* Dmytro Parfenov (Spartak Moscow)

### Defensive midfielders

* Marat Izmailov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
* Dmitri Loskov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
* Olexandr Gorshkov (Zenit)

## Medal squads

* 1. FC Spartak Moscow
* Goalkeepers: Maksym Levytskyi (20), Aleksandr Filimonov (8), Maksim Kabanov (3).
* Defenders: Igor Mitreski (27), Dmytro Parfenov (26 / 4), Yuri Kovtun (26 / 1), Jerry-Christian Tchuissé (22), Dmitri Ananko (13), Oleksandr Hranovskyi (8 / 1), Dmitri Bugakov (5), Mikhail Kupriyanov (4), Ibra Kébé (4), Igor Stamenovski (1), Andrei Streltsov (1).
* Midfielders: Yegor Titov (30 / 11), Viktor Bulatov (29 / 2), Vasili Baranov (25 / 5), Eduard Tsykhmeystruk (15 / 3), Maksym Kalynychenko (9 / 2), Aleksandr Pavlenko (5), Kahaber Mzhavanadze (4), Nikola Gjoševski (4), Lawrence Adjei (1), Yevhen Lysytsyn (1).
* Forwards: Luis Robson (28 / 11), Aleksandr Shirko (15 / 3), Vladimir Beschastnykh (12 / 9), Nikolai Pisarev (9 / 1), Jafar Irismetov (8), Artyom Bezrodny (6 / 1), German Lovchev (5), Raman Vasilyuk (4 / 2), Marcão (3), Okon Flo Essien (3), Aleksandr Danishevsky (2), Aleksandr Sonin (2). (league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
* Manager: Oleg Romantsev
* Transferred out during the season: Aleksandr Shirko (to FC Torpedo Moscow), Nikolai Pisarev (to FC Torpedo-ZIL Moscow), Oleksandr Hranovskyi (to FC Karpaty Lviv), Jafar Irismetov (on loan to FC Slavia Mozyr), Aleksandr Filimonov (to FC Dynamo Kyiv), Dmitri Bugakov (to FC Sokol Saratov), Nikola Gjoševski (to FK Vardar), Marcão (to FC St. Pauli).
* 2. FC Lokomotiv Moscow
* Goalkeepers: Ruslan Nigmatullin (27), Platon Zakharchuk (3).
* Defenders: Igor Chugainov (28 / 2), Jacob Lekgetho (25), Yuri Drozdov (24), Sergei Ignashevich (23), Gennadiy Nizhegorodov (21), Dmitri Sennikov (18), Vadim Evseev (13), Milan Obradović (12 / 1), Igor Cherevchenko (10), Andrei Lavrik (5), Andrei Solomatin (3), Oleg Pashinin (1).
* Midfielders: Dmitri Loskov (29 / 12), Vladimir Maminov (25 / 5), Albert Sarkisyan (16), Yevgeni Kharlachyov (3).
* Forwards: Marat Izmailov (29 / 6), James Obiorah (25 / 14), Maksim Buznikin (25 / 6), Ruslan Pimenov (23 / 3), Zaza Janashia (20 / 2), Nemanja Vučićević (3).
* One own goal each scored by Denis Yevsikov and Oleg Kornaukhov (both PFC CSKA Moscow).
* Manager: Yuri Syomin
* Transferred out during the season: Andrei Solomatin (to PFC CSKA Moscow), Yevgeni Kharlachyov (to FC Dynamo Moscow), Oleg Pashinin (on loan to Sanfrecce Hiroshima).
* 3. FC Zenit St. Petersburg
* Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (28), Dmitri Borodin (3).
* Defenders: Sargis Hovsepyan (27), Aleksei Katulsky (26 / 3), Aleksei Igonin (22), Valeri Tsvetkov (21), Maksim Demenko (19 / 6), Konstantin Lepyokhin (15 / 2), Igor Nedorezov (2).
* Midfielders: Andrei Arshavin (29 / 4), Aleksandr Gorshkov (28 / 6), Aleksandr Spivak (27 / 3), Andrey Kobelev (24 / 6), Denis Ugarov (17), Barys Haravoy (14), Sergei Osipov (10 / 1), Konstantin Konoplyov (8), Sergei Vasyanovich (7 / 1), Aleksei Lazarev (2).
* Forwards: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (28 / 6), Hennadiy Popovych (24 / 7), Maksim Astafyev (9 / 3), Yevgeni Tarasov (9 / 3), Dmitri Akimov (2), Dzmitry Aharodnik (2), Aleksandr Petukhov (1).
* One own goal scored by Otar Khizaneishvili (FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don).
* Manager: Yury Morozov.
* Transferred out during the season: none.