1997 Russian First League
# 1997 Russian First League

The Russian First League 1997 was the 6th edition of the Russian First Division.

## Overview

| Team | Head coach |
| - | - |
| FC Uralan Elista | Pavlo Yakovenko |
| FC Metallurg Lipetsk | Valeri Tretyakov |
| FC Sokol-PZhD Saratov | Nikolay Kiselyov |
| PFC Spartak Nalchik | Viktor Kumykov |
| FC Lokomotiv St. Petersburg | Givi Nodia |
| FC Lada-Grad Dimitrovgrad | Vladimir Yevsyukov |
| FC CSK VVS-Kristall Smolensk | Valeri Nenenko |
| FC Lokomotiv Chita | Aleksandr Kovalyov |
| FC Saturn Ramenskoye | Vladimir Mukhanov (until April) Vladimir Shevchuk (from April) |
| FC Dynamo Stavropol | Sergei Zimenkov (until June) Boris Stukalov (from July) |
| FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | Viktor Antikhovich (until July) |
| FC Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | Vitaliy Shevchenko (until September) Aleksandr Kishinevsky (from September) |
| FC Anzhi Makhachkala | Eduard Malofeyev |
| FC Lada-Togliatti-VAZ Togliatti | Viktor Tishchenko (until June) Vladimir Dergach (from June) |
| FC Druzhba Maykop | Soferbi Yeshugov (until August) Vitali Aksyonov (from August) |
| FC Kuban Krasnodar | Vladimir Brazhnikov |
| FC Irtysh Omsk | Aleksandr Ivchenko |
| FC Zarya Leninsk-Kuznetsky | Sergei Vasyutin |
| FC Energiya Kamyshin | Sergei Pavlov |
| FC Uralmash Yekaterinburg | Viktor Yerokhin |
| FC Torpedo Volzhsky | Oleg Dudarin |
| FC Luch Vladivostok | Vitali Koberskiy |

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Uralan Elista (P) | 42 | 29 | 5 | 8 | 67 | 22 | +45 | 92 | Promotion to Top Division |
| 2 | Metallurg Lipetsk | 42 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 84 | |
| 3 | Sokol-PZhD Saratov | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 58 | 35 | +23 | 74 | |
| 4 | Spartak Nalchik | 42 | 23 | 3 | 16 | 74 | 53 | +21 | 72 | |
| 5 | Lokomotiv St. Petersburg | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 70 | |
| 6 | Lada-Grad Dimitrovgrad | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 80 | 71 | +9 | 69 | |
| 7 | CSK VVS-Kristall Smolensk | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 70 | 45 | +25 | 68 | |
| 8 | Lokomotiv Chita | 42 | 21 | 2 | 19 | 62 | 63 | −1 | 65 | |
| 9 | Saturn Ramenskoye | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 65 | 55 | +10 | 63 | |
| 10 | Dynamo Stavropol | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 54 | 58 | −4 | 62 | |
| 11 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 42 | 19 | 4 | 19 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 61 | |
| 12 | Gazovik-Gazprom Izhevsk | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 61 | |
| 13 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 66 | 72 | −6 | 60 | |
| 14 | Lada-Togliatti-VAZ Togliatti | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 61 | 56 | +5 | 60 | |
| 15 | Druzhba Maykop | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 57 | |
| 16 | Kuban Krasnodar | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 63 | 66 | −3 | 57 | |
| 17 | Irtysh Omsk | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 57 | |
| 18 | Zarya Leninsk-Kuznetsky (R) | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 45 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 19 | Energiya Kamyshin (R) | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 46 | 67 | −21 | 38 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 20 | Uralmash Yekaterinburg (R) | 42 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 43 | 77 | −34 | 35 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 21 | Torpedo Volzhsky (R) | 42 | 9 | 3 | 30 | 29 | 72 | −43 | 30 | Relegation to Second Division |
| 22 | Luch Vladivostok (R) | 42 | 3 | 12 | 27 | 23 | 76 | −53 | 21 | Relegation to Second Division |

* ↑ FC Lada Dimitrovgrad renamed to FC Lada-Grad
* ↑ FC Lokomotiv Chita awarded 2 home wins
* ↑ FC Lada Togliatti renamed to FC Lada-Togliatti-VAZ
* ↑ FC Energiya-Tekstilshchik Kamyshin renamed to FC Energiya
* ↑ FC Luch Vladivostok awarded 1 home win.

### Top goalscorers

**29 goals**

* Aleksei Chernov (FC Lada-Grad Dimitrovgrad)

**23 goals**

* Valeri Solyanik (FC CSK-VVS Kristall Smolensk)

**18 goals**

* Marat Mulashev (FC Irtysh Omsk)

**17 goals**

* Rustyam Fakhrutdinov (FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk)
* Ibragim Gasanbekov (FC Anzhi Makhachkala)
* Aleksandrs Jelisejevs (FC Metallurg Lipetsk)
* Oleg Nechayev (FC Lada-Grad Dimitrovgrad)

**15 goals**

* Igor Menshchikov (FC Metallurg Lipetsk)
* Valeri Shushlyakov (FC Kuban Krasnodar)
* Narvik Sirkhayev (FC Anzhi Makhachkala)
