The Russia men's national volleyball team is governed by the Russian Volleyball Federation and represents Russia in international volleyball competitions.
The FIVB considers Russia as successor to the records of Soviet Union (1948–1991) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (1992). The USSR Volleyball Federation joined the FIVB in 1948, a year after the foundation of the international governing body. The following year they sent a team to compete in the first FIVB Men's World Championship and have been dominating the international scene ever since, having won six World Championships, four Olympic Games, six World Cups and 14 European Championships (medals of Russian and the Soviet union combined).
On 28 February 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in accordance with a "recommendation" by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIVB and CEV suspended the participation of Russia in their competitions.
On July 8, 2026, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced that Russian athletes and technical officials in all disciplines would be allowed to return to FIVB, World and Official competitions, following the International Olympic Committee Executive Board's decision that its previously recommended conditions of participation for Russian athletes and teams were no longer applicable. The Russian national teams were restored to the FIVB World Rankings with the same ranking points they held when their points were frozen. The FIVB also stated that the display of the Russian flag, anthem, colors and other national identifications would be determined by the FIVB and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) at a later date, in consultation with relevant international sports organizations.
On August 4, 2026, following consultations with relevant stakeholders, the FIVB confirmed that the Russian men's and women's national teams would participate in the 2027 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) as the highest-ranked teams not yet qualified for the competition. For the 2027 edition, the VNL will expand from 18 to 19 teams in each gender category to accommodate their participation while also ensuring the participation of the Slovenia Women's National team and Finland Men's National team, which were due to qualify based on their performances in previous seasons. The FIVB also stated that the Russian Volleyball Federation had notified it that Russia's men's national team would not participate in the 2027 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Poland.
History The USSR Volleyball Federation joined the FIVB in 1948, and the following year Soviet Union sent a team to compete at the first FIVB Men's World Championship. The Soviet Union won the inaugural championship with a perfect record of eight victories, while Czechoslovakia finished in second place.
Medals EventGoldSilverBronzeTotal Olympic Games 4 4 3 11 World Championship 6 3 3 12 World Cup 6 2 2 10 World Grand Champions Cup 0 1 0 1 World League 3 5 7 15 Nations League 2 0 0 2 European Championship 14 3 5 22 European Games 0 0 1 1 European League 1 1 0 2 Summer Univesiade 4 1 3 8Goodwill Games 1 1 0 2 Total 41 21 24 86
Competition record Olympic Games Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place Olympic Games recordQualification recordYearRoundPositionRound 1964 Final 1st 9 8 1 25 5 Qualified, World Champions 1968 Final 1st 9 8 1 26 8 Qualified, as defending Olympic Champions 1972 Semifinals 3rd 7 6 1 19 6 Qualified, as defending Olympic Champions 1976 Final 2nd 5 4 1 14 3 Qualified, as European Champions 1980 Final 1st 6 6 0 18 2 Qualified, as host country 1984BoycottedBoycotted 1988 Final 2nd 7 5 2 18 7 Qualified, as World Cup runners-up 1992 Quarterfinals 7th 8 4 4 17 15 Qualified, as European Champions 1996 Semifinals 4th 8 3 5 11 15 Final Champions 3 0 9 2 2000 Final 2nd 8 6 2 19 13 Qualified, World Cup champions 2004 Semifinals 3rd 8 5 3 17 13 Final Champions 5 0 15 0 2008 Semifinals 3rd 8 6 2 22 11 Qualified, World Cup runners-up 2012 Final 1st 8 7 1 21 8 Qualified, World Cup champions 2016 Semifinals 4th 8 5 3 18 12 Final Champions 4 1 13 5 2020 Final 2nd 8 6 2 21 9 Final Champions 3 0 9 0 2024BannedBanned 2028To be DeterminedTo be Determined 2032To be DeterminedTo be Determined Total 4 Titles 13/14 107 79 28 266 127 —
World Championship Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
World Championship recordYearRoundPosition 1949 Final Group 1st 8 8 0 24 2 1952 Final Group 1st 8 8 0 24 0 1956 Final Group 3rd 11 9 2 30 10 1960 Final Group 1st 10 10 0 24 5 1962 Final Group 1st 11 11 0 33 6 1966 Final Group 3rd 11 7 4 29 15 1970 Final Group 6th 11 6 5 22 16 1974 Final Group 2nd 11 8 3 27 10 1978 Final Group 1st 9 9 0 27 3 1982 Final 1st 9 9 0 27 2 1986 Final 2nd 8 7 1 22 5 1990 Semifinals 3rd 7 5 2 18 6 1994 Quarterfinals 7th 7 4 3 15 11 1998 5th–8th places 5th 12 10 2 33 11 2002 Final 2nd 9 6 3 21 15 2006 5th–8th semifinals 7th 11 8 3 26 10 2010 5th place match 5th 9 7 2 24 10 2014 5th place match 5th 12 9 3 30 13 2018 Third round 6th 13 7 6 23 14 2022 Banned by FIVB 2025 2027 Refused from participation 2029Total 6 Titles19/2018714839479164—
World Cup Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
World Cup recordYearRoundPosition 1965 Champions 7 6 1 20 7 1969 3rd Place 6 4 2 13 8 1977 Champions 8 7 1 23 5 1981 Round Robin Champions 7 7 0 21 2 1985 Round Robin Runners-up 7 5 2 18 8 1989 Round Robin 3rd Place 7 5 2 16 11 1991 Round Robin Champions 8 7 1 22 4 1995did not participate 1999 Round Robin Champions 11 9 2 31 11 2003did not participate 2007 Round Robin Runners-up 11 9 2 29 9 2011 Round Robin Champions 11 10 1 30 8 2015 Round Robin 4th place 11 8 3 25 12 2019 Round Robin 6th place 11 5 6 20 23 Total 6 Titles 12/14 105 82 23 268 108 —
World Grand Champions Cup 2013 – Silver medal
World League Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place World League recordYearRoundPosition 1990 Semifinals 4th Place 14 8 6 29 21 1991 Semifinals 3rd Place 18 12 6 46 28 1992 Playoff Round 6th Place 18 10 8 32 28 1993 Final Runners-up 22 17 5 54 27 1994 Final Round 6th Place 14 10 4 34 14 1995 Final Round 4th Place 17 12 5 43 22 1996 Final Round 3rd Place 17 15 2 47 17 1997 Final Round 3rd Place 17 4 15 22 41 1998 Final Runners-up 18 13 5 42 25 1999 Semifinals 4th Place 16 12 4 40 24 2000 Final Runners-up 18 12 6 46 24 2001 Final 3rd Place 17 11 6 41 23 2002 Final Champions 17 14 3 45 20 2003 Final Round 7th Place 15 11 3 36 21 2004 did not compete 2005 did not compete 2006 Semifinals 3rd Place 17 11 6 42 24 2007 Final Runners-up 16 12 4 39 17 2008 Semifinals 3rd Place 16 12 4 39 24 2009 Semifinals 3rd Place 16 10 6 35 23 2010 Final Runners-up 16 13 3 41 27 2011 Final Champions 17 16 1 49 13 2012 Intercontinental Round 8th Place 12 8 4 29 23 2013 Final Champions 14 10 4 32 18 2014 Final Round 5th Place 14 8 6 32 21 2015 Intercontinental Round 8th Place 12 1 11 11 34 2016 Intercontinental Round 7th Place 9 5 4 15 14 2017 Final Round 5th Place 11 5 6 21 22 Total 3 Titles 26/28 408 271 137 910 595 —
Nations League Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Nations League recordYearRoundPosition 2018 Final 1st 19 15 4 48 15 2019 Final 1st 19 15 4 46 22 2021 Preliminary round 5th 15 11 4 39 21 2022 Banned by FIVB 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 QualifiedTotal 2 Titles 3/8 53 41 12 133 58 —
European Championship Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
European Championship recordYearRoundPosition 1948 did not enter 1950 Round Robin Champions 5 5 0 15 0 1951 Final Group Champions 7 7 0 21 0 1955 Final Group 4th Place 10 7 3 25 12 1958 Final Group 3rd Place 11 8 3 29 13 1963 Final Group 3rd Place 9 6 3 24 16 1967 Final Group Champions 10 10 0 30 6 1971 Final Group Champions 6 5 1 15 4 1975 Final Group Champions 7 7 0 21 3 1977 Final Champions 7 6 1 19 5 1979 Final Group Champions 7 7 0 21 3 1981 Final Group Champions 7 7 0 21 3 1983 Final Group Champions 7 7 0 21 3 1985 Final Group Champions 7 7 0 21 2 1987 Final Champions 7 7 0 21 5 1989 Semifinals 4th Place 7 5 2 17 10 1991 Final Champions 7 7 0 21 1 1993 Semifinals 3rd Place 7 6 1 18 6 1995 Groups Round 5th Place 7 5 2 18 8 1997 Groups Round 5th Place 7 4 3 16 9 1999 Final Runners-up 5 4 1 13 5 2001 Semifinals 3rd Place 7 5 2 15 11 2003 Semifinals 3rd Place 7 7 0 21 4 2005 Final Runners-up 7 6 1 20 10 2007 Final Runners-up 8 7 1 23 7 2009 Semifinals 4th Place 8 6 2 20 10 2011 Semifinals 4th Place 6 4 2 15 8 2013 Final Champions 7 6 1 18 7 2015 Quarterfinals 6th Place 4 3 1 9 4 2017 Final Champions 6 6 0 18 2 2019Quarterfinals 5th Place 7 6 1 19 5 2021Quarterfinals 7th Place 7 5 2 16 11 2023Banned by FIVB 2026 2028To be determined Total 14 Titles 30/34 221 188 33 601 193 —
European League 2004 – Silver medal 2005 – Gold medal
Team 2020 squad The following was the Russian roster in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Head coach: Konstantin Bryanskiy
No.NameDate of birthHeightWeightSpikeBlock2020-21 club Dinamo Moscow Zenit Kazan Fakel Novy Urengoy Zenit Saint Petersburg Fakel Novy Urengoy Dinamo Moscow Zenit Saint Petersburg Zenit Kazan Zenit Saint Petersburg20 Lokomotiv Novosibirsk24 () Kuzbass Kemerovo27 Belogorie
Coaches Viacheslav Platonov (1996–1997) Vyacheslav Zaytsev (1997–1997) Gennadiy Shipulin (1998–2004)
Zoran Gajić (2005–2006) Vladimir Alekno (2007–2008) Daniele Bagnoli (2009–2010) Vladimir Alekno (2011–2012) Andrey Voronkov (2013–2015) Vladimir Alekno (2015–2016) Sergey Shlyapnikov (2017–2019) Tuomas Sammelvuo (2019–2022) Konstantin Bryanskiy (2022-
Kit providers The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Russia national volleyball team.
PeriodKit provider2000–ChampionMizuno
References
External links Official website FIVB profile