The Russian National Team played as the USSR from 1949-1991, before becoming the CIS Team in 1991-1993.

It played its first official match in Prague at the European Championships on September 11, 1949 against Poland and won 3-0 (15-13, 15-4, 15-3).

Over the years, the team has won Olympic gold four times, the World Championship six times, the World Cup once, the Grand Prix three times, and the World Champion Cup and European Championship 17 times. No other team has had such impressive results.

Star players who have graced the team’s roster include Alexandra Chudina, Militia Eremeeva, Liudmila Buldacova, Inna Ryskal, Rosa Salikhova, Nina Smoleeva, Valentina Ogienko and many others.

Of course, in addition to the incredible gold-medal haul, Russia has also brought home many silver and bronze medals.

The team finished second at the 2004 Olympics, which turned out to be a milestone event for the team, as many changes to the lineup soon followed. Veterans Evgenia Artamonova, Elizaveta Tischenko and Elena Tiurina all left the squad. But owing to a strong pool of talent and excellent managerial organization, the new team won bronze at the European Championship following the Athen’s Olympics.

2006 was one of the most successful for Russia in recent years. The team won silver at the World Grand Prix before going on to win the World Championship in Japan.

The team at that time consisted of a great mix of experienced and young players. Veteran spikers included Gamova, Sokolova and Godina, while young setters included Akulova Marina and Sheshenina Marina. The team also boasted the tallest middle blocker in the world: Merkulova Yulia.

The year 2007 wasn’t as successful for Russia as the team succumbed to the injury bug. As a result, Russia finished in fourth place at the FIV World Grand Prix and third at the European Championship.

In 2008, the team started its season with victory at the European Olympic qualification tournament in Halle, Germany, but faltered at the Beijing Olympics, finishing tied for 5^th.

Owing to the poor showing at the last Olympics, a number of changes have been made to the team to accommodate younger players. Many of the team’s leaders have either taken a break from the national team or finished playing altogether.

In addition, the skillful tactician Vladimir Kuzyutkin has been appointed new coach to take the team through the next Olympic cycle.

The team is currently preparing for the 2009 Grand Prix and the 2009 European Championship. 

Vladimir Ivanovich Kuzyutkin was born in 1947. He has had a long career coaching both men's and women's teams, twice winning the Turkish Championship (women) with Emlakbank (1990-1991) and Ekzatchibashi (1994-1995). In the 2006-2008 season, Kuzyutkin worked with Universitet-Belogorie.