The Russian men's national team finished the friendly tournament in Ufa with three victories. "Sbornaya" successively defeated Iran, Belarus, and Cuba, with the matches being the first serious series of international tests for Konstantin Bryanskiy's team after FIVB's decision to reinstate the Russians in the world rankings and open their path to official international competitions.
An important clarification here is that this was not Russia's first appearance against a foreign national team since the beginning of its international isolation. On June 1, 2025, the Russians played against Serbia in Belgrade for the Channel One Cup and won 3:1 (21:25, 25:20, 25:17, 25:14). However, the match was a friendly and did not signify Russia's return to official FIVB competitions.

A year later, the situation is different. The tournament in Ufa is part of Russia's preparation for its return to the international stage, which is expected in the Nations League in 2027.
In their first match in Ufa, Konstantin Bryanskiy's team defeated Iran 3:1 (25:16, 23:25, 25:20, 25:22). A day later, the Russians made changes to their lineup but faced no serious problems against Belarus – 3:0 (25:23, 25:20, 25:16).
The most serious test came on the last day against Cuba. In front of 3100 spectators, Russia won 3:0 (25:21, 34:32, 25:20), but the final score does not fully reflect the difficulties the hosts went through.
The Russians controlled the first set, but the second turned into a real battle. They led 24:22 but allowed Cuba to come back. In the prolonged ending, "Sbornaya" had to save set points before Dmitry Volkov became the key figure for the hosts. Russia snatched the set 34:32 and took a 2:0 lead.
The Cubans also had their chance in the third set. They led 17:14, but Russia erased the deficit and equalized at 17:17. After that, Volkov stopped Alejandro Gonzalez with a single block, Miguel Lopez was stopped by a triple block, and Robertlandy Simon attacked out. Russia opened up a lead at 21:18 and did not allow the opponent to come back.
Maxim Sapozhkov was the top scorer in the match with 18 points. Volkov added 14, and Bogdan finished with 6. For Cuba, Marlon Yant scored 14 points, Miguel Lopez – 11, and Robertlandy Simon remained with 6.
Interestingly, the Cubans had better reception – 67% against 60% for Russia, but the hosts compensated with their superiority in blocking – 10:6. Attack points were almost even – 41:40 for Russia, while Cuba made more errors – 30 against 24.
However, coach Konstantin Bryanskiy refused to use the three victories as a definitive answer to the question of where Russia stands compared to the world's leading teams. According to him, the matches in Ufa were more of initial tests. Dmitry Volkov was more categorical: "We are definitely not weak. We are good."
The context is also important. Iran and Cuba arrived with accumulated international experience from the Nations League and are using the matches as part of their preparation for the continental championships in September. Russia, on the other hand, gathered specifically for the tournament in Ufa, and the core of Bryanskiy's squad was built from players of Moscow's "Dynamo."
Bryanskiy also used the three matches to test new names. Among the debutants, Roman Romanovsky and Omar Kurbanov got an opportunity, and against Cuba, at certain moments, the court featured an entirely Moscow "Dynamo" lineup.
The tournament also offered an interesting generational encounter. 24-year-old middle blocker Roman Romanovsky does not hide that Robertlandy Simon is his idol. The two found themselves facing each other at the net, and after the match, the Cuban legend promised through Marlon Yant to send his jersey to the Russian. 39-year-old Simon continues to play for Cuba and has the ambition to reach the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Russia finished the tournament as the only team with three victories and only one lost set. Iran, Cuba, and Belarus each had one win.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov and volley.ru