In December 2012 he announced that he would join the Russian Fencing Federation–Italy's main rival–as director of foil for both men and women, taking with him assistant coach Giovanni Bortolaso and physical conditioning trainer Maurizio Zomparelli. In the 2013 World Championships in Budapest, Italy took the gold medal in men's team foil and two bronze medals in women's foil. The 2014 European Championships in Strasbourg brought two silver medals and two bronze medals. In the World Championships at home in Kazan, Aleksey Cheremisinov took the title while the women's team earned a silver medal.