| Season | 1998 |
|---|---|
← 1997 1999 → | |
Spartak Moscow won their third consecutive Russian title, and sixth overall.
| Team | Head coach |
|---|---|
| FC Spartak Moscow | Oleg Romantsev |
| PFC CSKA Moscow | Pavel Sadyrin (until July) Oleg Dolmatov (from July) |
| FC Lokomotiv Moscow | Yuri Syomin |
| FC Rotor Volgograd | Viktor Prokopenko |
| FC Zenit St. Petersburg | Anatoliy Byshovets Anatoli Davydov (caretaker, from September) |
| FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don | Sergey Andreyev |
| FC Uralan Elista | Vitaliy Shevchenko |
| FC Alania Vladikavkaz | Valery Gazzaev |
| FC Dynamo Moscow | Adamas Golodets (until June) Georgi Yartsev (from June) |
| FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk | Oleg Dolmatov (until July) Sergei Butenko (from July) |
| FC Torpedo Moscow | Aleksandr Tarkhanov (until May) Valentin Ivanov (from May) |
| FC Krylia Sovetov Samara | Aleksandr Averyanov |
| FC Zhemchuzhina Sochi | Anatoly Baidachny |
| FC Shinnik Yaroslavl | Pyotr Shubin (until May) David Kipiani |
| FC Baltika Kaliningrad | Leonid Tkachenko |
| FC Tyumen | Aleksandr Ignatenko |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spartak Moscow (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 58 | 27 | +31 | 59 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 2 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 50 | 22 | +28 | 56 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 55 | Qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 4 | Rotor Volgograd | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 48 | |
| 5 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 47 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Rostselmash | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 44 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round |
| 7 | Uralan Elista | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 42 | |
| 8 | Alania Vladikavkaz | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 40 | |
| 9 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 39 | |
| 10 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 38 | |
| 11 | Torpedo Moscow [a] | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 37 | |
| 12 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 35 | |
| 13 | Zhemchuzhina Sochi | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 31 | 48 | −17 | 35 | |
| 14 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 35 | |
| 15 | Baltika Kaliningrad (R) | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 32 | Relegation to First Division |
| 16 | Tyumen [b] (R) | 30 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 17 | 89 | −72 | 8 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Rotor | 22 |
| 2 | | Alania | 14 |
| | CSKA | ||
| | Rostselmash | ||
| 5 | | Dynamo | 12 |
| 6 | | Rotor | 11 |
| 7 | | Spartak Moscow | 10 |
| 8 | | CSKA | 9 |
| | Uralan | ||
| | Chernomorets | ||
| | Torpedo |
| # | Club | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alania | 26,333 |
| 2 | Baltika | 16,933 |
| 3 | Krylia Sovetov | 16,667 |
| 4 | Zenit | 14,867 |
| 5 | Spartak Moscow | 11,667 |
| 6 | Rostselmash | 11,373 |
| 7 | Rotor | 10,747 |
| 8 | Chernomorets | 9,867 |
| 9 | Shinnik | 9,233 |
| 10 | PFC CSKA | 7,847 |
| 11 | Torpedo | 7,233 |
| 12 | Zhemchuzhina | 6,467 |
| 13 | Elista | 5,733 |
| 14 | Dynamo Moscow | 5,127 |
| 15 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 3,380 |
| 16 | Tyumen | 2,627 |
Source: [2]