In 1955, Persiantsev won the national title ahead of Oleg Simantovsky and Lev Mikhailov. The following season, he was a member of the first Soviet team to compete at a European Figure Skating Championship – the 1956 Europeans in Paris – and had the highest placement, 12th, of the three Soviets in men's singles. He would go on to compete at the next three editions of the event, finishing 13th in 1957 (Vienna, Austria), 16th in 1958 (Bratislava, Czechoslovakia), and 14th in 1959 (Davos, Switzerland).