| Season | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Men's football | ||
| Top Division | Spartak Moscow | |
| First Division | Sokol Saratov | |
| Second Division |
| |
| Russian Cup | Lokomotiv Moscow | |
| ||
2000 in Russian football saw the eighth title for FC Spartak Moscow and the third Cup for FC Lokomotiv Moscow. The national team began qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Russia national football team began qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score1 | Competition | Russia scorers | Match Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 February 2000 | Qiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa (A) |  Israel | 1–4 | F | Vladimir Beschastnykh | Sport-Express |
| 26 April 2000 | Dynamo Stadium, Moscow (H) |  United States | 2–0 | F | Egor Titov, Valery Karpin | Sport-Express |
| 31 May 2000 | Dynamo Stadium, Moscow (H) |  Slovakia | 1–1 | F | Vladimir Beschastnykh | Sport-Express |
| 4 June 2000 | Stadionul Republican, Chişinău (A) |  Moldova | 1–0 | F | Maksim Buznikin | Sport-Express |
| 16 August 2000 | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow (H) | Israel | 1–0 | F | Maksim Buznikin | Sport-Express |
| 2 September 2000 | Hardturm, Zürich (A) |  Switzerland | 1–0 | WCQ | Vladimir Beschastnykh | rsssf Sport-Express |
| 11 October 2000 | Dynamo Stadium, Moscow (H) |  Luxembourg | 3–0 | WCQ | Maksim Buznikin, Dmitri Khokhlov, Egor Titov | rsssf Sport-Express |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spartak Moscow (C) | 30 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 69 | 30 | +39 | 70 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 50 | 20 | +30 | 62 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Torpedo Moscow | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 55 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 31 | +13 | 52 | |
| 5 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 50 | |
| 6 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk [a] | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 47 | 28 | +19 | 49 | |
| 7 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 47 | |
| 8 | CSKA Moscow | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 41 | |
| 9 | Saturn | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 40 | |
| 10 | Alania Vladikavkaz | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 38 | |
| 11 | Rotor Volgograd | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 54 | −19 | 32 | |
| 12 | Rostselmash | 30 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 32 | |
| 13 | Fakel Voronezh | 30 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 30 | |
| 14 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 29 | |
| 15 | Lokomotiv N.N. (R) | 30 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 16 | 47 | −31 | 18 | Relegation to First Division |
| 16 | Uralan Elista (R) | 30 | 2 | 6 | 22 | 17 | 61 | −44 | 12 |
Sokol and Torpedo-ZIL were promoted to the Top Division for the first time after occupying two top positions in the First Division.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sokol Saratov (P) | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 75 | 27 | +48 | 89 | Promotion to Top Division |
| 2 | Torpedo-ZIL Moscow (P) | 38 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 59 | 28 | +31 | 80 | |
| 3 | Rubin Kazan | 38 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 58 | 28 | +30 | 78 | |
| 4 | Shinnik Yaroslavl | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 71 | |
| 5 | Kristall Smolensk | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 61 | |
| 6 | Amkar Perm | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 60 | |
| 7 | Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 52 | 52 | 0 | 59 | |
| 8 | Lokomotiv Chita | 38 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 53 | |
| 9 | Lada-Togliatti | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 52 | |
| 10 | Tom Tomsk | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 52 | |
| 11 | Arsenal Tula | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 52 | |
| 12 | Baltika Kaliningrad | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 51 | |
| 13 | Volgar-Gazprom Astrakhan | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 43 | 39 | +4 | 51 | |
| 14 | Metallurg Krasnoyarsk | 38 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 50 | |
| 15 | Spartak Nalchik | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 34 | 44 | −10 | 48 | |
| 16 | Nosta Novotroitsk (R) | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 46 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 17 | Zhemchuzhina Sochi (R) | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 45 | 70 | −25 | 43 | |
| 18 | Metallurg Lipetsk (R) | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 39 | |
| 19 | Spartak-Chukotka Moscow [a] (R) | 38 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 16 | |
| 20 | Lokomotiv St. Petersburg [b] (R) | 38 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 27 | 87 | −60 | 13 |
Andrey Fedkov of Sokol became the top goalscorer with 26 goals.
Of six clubs that finished first in their respective Second Division zones, three play-off winners were promoted to the First Division:
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Severstal Cherepovets (West) | 3–3 | FC Khimki (Centre) | 1–0 | 2–3 |
| FC Svetotekhnika Saransk (Povolzhye) | 0–1 | FC Kuban Krasnodar (South) | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Ural) | 4–1 | FC Metallurg Novokuznetsk (East) | 2–0 | 2–1 |
However, later Severstal refused promotion, and their place was taken by Khimki.
The Russian Cup was won by Lokomotiv Moscow, who beat CSKA Moscow 3–2 after extra time.
Spartak Moscow played in the third round of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, where they lost to Leeds United A.F.C. on away goals.
Zenit Saint Petersburg reached the final of the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2000 after eliminating NK Primorje, Tatabánya FC, and Bradford City A.F.C. In the final, Zenit lost 3–4 on aggregate to Celta de Vigo.
Lokomotiv Moscow failed to qualify for the group stage of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, losing 1–6 on aggregate to Beşiktaş J.K. in the third qualifying round.
Spartak Moscow, who qualified for the group stage automatically, finished in the second position, one point behind Real Madrid in Group A which also contained Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Of the four Russian clubs which played in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup, only Lokomotiv Moscow qualified for the second round. Torpedo Moscow lost 2–5 on aggregate to Lausanne Sports, CSKA Moscow 0–1 to Viborg FF (after extra time), and Spartak Vladikavkaz 0–5 to Amica Wronki.
Lokomotiv overcome PFC Naftex Burgas in the first round and FK Inter Bratislava in the second round, qualifying for the spring phase of the UEFA Cup.
