# 2003 Russian Premier League

CSKA won their first Russian title. It was their first championship since the last edition of the Soviet Top League in 1991. Newly promoted Rubin got the bronze.

## Teams

As in the previous season, 16 teams are playing in the 2003 season. After the 2002 season, Anzhi Makhachkala and Sokol Saratov were relegated to the 2003 Russian First Division. They were replaced by Rubin Kazan and Chernomorets Novorossiysk, the winners and runners up of the 2002 Russian First Division.

### Venues

| Spartak-Alania | Chernomorets | CSKA | Dynamo |
| Republican Spartak Stadium | Central Stadium | Central Stadium | Central Stadium |
| Capacity: 32,464 | Capacity: 12,500 | Capacity: 36,540 | Capacity: 36,540 |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| Metallurg Stadium | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | RZD Arena |
| Capacity: 33,001 | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Capacity: 27,084 |
| Rostov | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Rotor |
| Olimp-2 | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Central Stadium |
| Capacity: 15,840 | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Capacity: 32,120 |
| Rubin | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Saturn |
| Central Stadium | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Saturn Stadium |
| Capacity: 22,500 | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Capacity: 14,685 |
| Shinnik | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Spartak |
| Shinnik Stadium | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Luzhniki Stadium |
| Capacity: 22,871 | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | CSKA Dynamo Lokomotiv Saturn Spartak Torpedo Torpedo-ZILSpartak-AlaniaChernomoretsKryliaRostovRotorRubinShinnikUralanZenitclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2003 Russian Premier League | Capacity: 81,029 |
| Torpedo | Torpedo-ZIL | Uralan | Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| Luzhniki Stadium | Eduard Streltsov Stadium | Uralan Stadium | Petrovsky Stadium |
| Capacity: 81,029 | Capacity: 13,450 | Capacity: | Capacity: 21,570 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Location | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Spartak-Alania | Vladikavkaz | Bakhva Tedeyev | Umbro | - |
| Chernomorets | Novorossiysk | Igor Gamula (Caretaker) | Adidas | - |
| CSKA | Moscow | Valery Gazzaev | Umbro | - |
| Dynamo | Moscow | Viktor Prokopenko | Diadora | Yukos |
| Lokomotiv | Moscow | Yuri Semin | Nike | MZD |
| Krylia | Samara | Aleksandr Tarkhanov | Umbro | - |
| Rostov | Rostov-on-Don | Sergei Balakhnin | Nike | - |
| Rotor | Volgograd | Vladimir Fayzulin | Umbro | - |
| Rubin | Kazan | Kurban Berdyev | Nike | - |
| Saturn | Ramenskoye | Oleg Romantsev | Nike | - |
| Shinnik | Yaroslavl | Aleksandr Pobegalov | Nike | TM Holding |
| Spartak | Moscow | Vladimir Fedotov (Caretaker) | Umbro | Lukoil |
| Torpedo | Moscow | Sergei Petrenko | Diadora | - |
| Torpedo-Metallurg | Moscow | Aleksandr Ignatenko (Caretaker) | 2K | ZiL |
| Uralan | Elista | Igor Shalimov | Adidas | - |
| Zenit | Saint Petersburg | Vlastimil Petržela | Umbro | Gazprom |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Torpedo-ZIL | Vadim Nikonov | | | Preseason | Sergei Aleinikov | | Preseason |
| Rotor | Vladimir Salkov | | | Preseason | Vladimir Fayzulin | | Preseason |
| Uralan Elista | Revaz Dzodzuashvili | | | Preseason | Igor Shalimov | | Preseason |
| Spartak-Alania | Bakhva Tedeyev | | | Preseason | Revaz Dzodzuashvili | 22 December 2002 | Preseason |
| Zenit | Boris Rappoport | | | Preseason | Vlastimil Petržela | 23 December 2002 | Preseason |
| Chernomorets | Valeri Chetverik | | March 2003 | | Igor Gamula | March 2003 | |
| Spartak-Alania | Revaz Dzodzuashvili | Resigned | 22 June 2003 | | Aleksandr Yanovsky (Caretaker) | June 2003 | |
| Torpedo-ZIL | Sergei Aleinikov | | May 2003 | | Valentin Ivanov | May 2003 | |
| Spartak | Oleg Romantsev | | June 2003 | | Andrey Chernyshov | June 2003 | |
| Spartak-Alania | Aleksandr Yanovsky (Caretaker) | | June 2003 | | Nikolai Khudiyev | July 2003 | |
| Chernomorets | Igor Gamula | | July 2003 | | Sergei Pavlov | July 2003 | |
| Spartak-Alania | Nikolai Khudiyev | | July 2003 | | Bakhva Tedeyev | July 2003 | |
| Rostov | Sergei Balakhnin | | August 2003 | | Vladimir Fedotov (Caretaker) | August 2003 | |
| Rostov | Vladimir Fedotov (Caretaker) | | August 2003 | | Sergei Balakhnin | August 2003 | |
| Torpedo-ZIL | Valentin Ivanov | | August 2003 | | Aleksandr Ignatenko (Caretaker) | August 2003 | |
| Saturn | Vladimir Shevchuk | | September 2003 | | Oleg Romantsev | September 2003 | |
| Spartak | Andrey Chernyshov | | September 2003 | | Vladimir Fedotov (Caretaker) | September 2003 | |
| Chernomorets | Sergei Pavlov | | October 2003 | | Igor Gamula (Caretaker) | October 2003 | |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 56 | 32 | +24 | 59 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 56 | Qualification to UEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 3 | Rubin Kazan | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 53 | Qualification to UEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 52 | |
| 5 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 43 | 34 | +9 | 47 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round |
| 6 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 46 | |
| 7 | Saturn | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 45 | |
| 8 | Torpedo Moscow | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 43 | |
| 9 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 42 | |
| 10 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 36 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round |
| 11 | Rostov | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 34 | |
| 12 | Rotor Volgograd | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 32 | |
| 13 | Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 23 | 43 | −20 | 31 | |
| 14 | Torpedo-Metallurg Moscow | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 25 | 39 | −14 | 29 | |
| 15 | Uralan Elista (R) | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 28 | Relegation to First Division |
| 16 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk (R) | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 24 | Relegation to First Division |

## Results

| Home \ Away | SAL | CHE | CSK | DYN | KRY | LOK | ROS | ROT | RUB | SAT | SHI | SPA | TOR | TMM | URE | ZEN |
| Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Chernomorets Novorossiysk | 3–0 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | 3–2 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 7–1 |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 1–2 |
| Rostov | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Rotor Volgograd | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 |
| Rubin Kazan | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Saturn | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| Shinnik Yaroslavl | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Spartak Moscow | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Torpedo Moscow | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Torpedo-Metallurg Moscow | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Uralan Elista | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | | 1–0 |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of matches played on 1 November 2003.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goal |
| 1 | Dmitri Loskov | Lokomotiv | 14 |
| 2 | Aleksandr Kerzhakov | Zenit | 13 |
| 2 | Valery Yesipov | Rotor | 13 |
| 4 | Aleksei Medvedev | Saturn | 11 |
| 4 | Rôni | Rubin | 11 |
| 6 | Roman Pavlyuchenko | Spartak Moscow | 10 |
| 7 | Yegor Titov | Spartak Moscow | 10 |
| 7 | Dmitri Bulykin | Dynamo | 10 |
| 7 | Andrei Karyaka | Krylia | 10 |
| 7 | Martin Kushev | Shinnik | 10 |
| 7 | Rolan Gusev | CSKA | 10 |
| 7 | Andrey Tikhonov | Krylia | 10 |

## Awards

On November 14 Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:

### Goalkeepers

* Sergei Ovchinnikov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
* Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit)
* Sergei Kozko (Rubin)

### Defensive midfielders

* Evgeni Aldonin (Rotor)
* Vladimir Maminov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
* Elvir Rahimić (CSKA Moscow)

## Medal squads

* 1. PFC CSKA Moscow
* Goalkeepers: Veniamin Mandrykin (19), Igor Akinfeev (13).
* Defenders: Aleksei Berezutski (30), Bohdan Shershun (27 / 1), Denis Yevsikov (24), Vasili Berezutski (23), Deividas Šemberas (21), Andrei Solomatin (20).
* Midfielders: Elvir Rahimić (28 / 1), Jiří Jarošík (27 / 7), Rolan Gusev (26 / 9), Igor Yanovsky (25 / 5), Sergei Semak (24 / 7), Juris Laizāns (21 / 1), Spartak Gogniyev (11 / 2), Alan Kusov (11), Artur Tlisov (3 / 1).
* Forwards: Denis Popov (22 / 8), Dmitri Kirichenko (22 / 5), Ivica Olić (10 / 7), Alexander Geynrikh (2 / 1), Sergey Samodin (2), Vardan Mazalov (1). (league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
* One own goal scored by Andrés Scotti (FC Rubin Kazan).
* Manager: Valery Gazzaev.
* Transferred out during the season: Alan Kusov (on loan to FC Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz).
* 2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg
* Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (27), Kamil Čontofalský (3).
* Defenders: Milan Vještica (28), Pavel Mareš (26 / 2), Martin Horák (21 / 2), Daniel Chiriţă (21 / 1), Aleksei Katulsky (17 / 1), Aleksei Igonin (11), Sargis Hovsepyan (10), Konstantin Lobov (9), Valeri Tsvetkov (8), Igor Nedorezov (1).
* Midfielders: Andrei Arshavin (27 / 5), Aleksandr Spivak (26 / 6), Vladislav Radimov (21 / 3), Vladimir Bystrov (19 / 4), Igor Denisov (19 / 2), Radek Šírl (18 / 1), Konstantin Konoplyov (15 / 1), Oleg Vlasov (13 / 2), Sergei Osipov (8).
* Forwards: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (27 / 13), Dmitri Makarov (12 / 2), Lukáš Hartig (12 / 1), Andrei Nikolayev (6 / 2), Maksim Astafyev (4), Predrag Ranđelović (3).
* Manager: Vlastimil Petržela .
* Transferred out during the season: Sargis Hovsepyan (to FC Torpedo-Metallurg Moscow), Sergei Osipov (to FC Torpedo Moscow), Predrag Ranđelović (free agent).
* 3. FC Rubin Kazan
* Goalkeepers: Sergei Kozko (24), Pavel Kharchik (4), Valeri Aleskarov (2).
* Defenders: Jiří Novotný (29 / 6), Mikhail Sinyov (27), Calisto (23 / 1), Roman Sharonov (18 / 1), Andrei Fyodorov (17 / 1), Leandro Samaroni (9), Sergei Kharlamov (7), Andrei Streltsov (1), Pape Magatte Kebe (1).
* Midfielders: Denis Boyarintsev (28 / 7), Andrés Scotti (27 / 4), Tomáš Čížek (25 / 1), MacBeth Sibaya (24 / 1), Andrei Konovalov (23 / 2), Ebrima Sillah (12 / 2), Abdelkarim Kissi (5), Dmitri Michkov (5), Carlos Castro (4), Baye Gueye Ndiaga (2 / 1).
* Forwards: Roni (29 / 11), Oleg Nechayev (25 / 2), David Chaladze (20 / 3), Aloísio (6), Wladimir Baýramow (1).
* Manager: Kurban Berdyev.
* One own goal scored by Denis Yevsikov (PFC CSKA Moscow).
* Transferred out during the season: Leandro Samaroni , Wladimir Baýramow (both to FC Terek Grozny).