The Russian men's national team has always been among the formidable forces in world volleyball, albeit with a modest record at World Championships – only one silver medal. However, Russian clubs dominated the Champions League for a long time, and dozens of players became legends. Russian BO Sport gathered the twenty greatest among them, evaluating their medals according to the significance of the tournaments and their successes in the national team and clubs.

How the ranking was performed

Olympic gold – 10 points, other Olympic medals – 8. A World Championship title is worth 9 points, while European honors and World Cup trophies weigh more than annual commercial tournaments. Players with the most caps for the national team also receive bonuses – Sergey Tetyukhin, Konstantin Ushakov, and Vadim Khamuttskikh lead in this criterion.

20-11th place: Legends from the Golden Era

• 20. Pavel Abramov (95 pts)– a brilliant receiver with a World League 2002 title and a successful career in Japan and Poland.

• 19. Andrey Yegorchev (100 pts)– a seven-time Russian champion with four different clubs, Olympic bronze medalist.

• 18. Alexander Butko (103 pts)– a golden setter from London 2012 and champion with "Lokomotiv" and "Zenit".

• 17. Taras Khtey (103 pts)– the captain of the Olympic triumph in London, a long-time leader of "Belogorie".

• 16. Roman Yakovlev (103 pts)– MVP of the 1999 World Cup and a star in Italy.

• 15. Nikolay Apalikov (113 pts)– the backbone of "Zenit"'s dominance and an Olympic champion.

• 14. Dmitry Fomin (113 pts)– a star from the 90s and the third top scorer in Russian history.

• 13. Alexander Volkov (115 pts)– a hero from London 2012, playing despite severe injuries.
  
  

  
  

• 12. Ruslan Olikhver (115 pts.)– a veteran of three Olympic cycles, captain of the 2002 vice-champion team.

• 11. Yuri Berezhko (121 pts.)– a key outside hitter and leader of "Dinamo" for 13 seasons.

Top 10: The Greatest of the Great

• 10. Dmitry Muserskiy (122 pts.)– hero of the London 2012 final, who destroyed Brazil with 31 points.
  

  
  

• 9. Alexey Kazakov (122 pts.)– 15 years in the national team and 18 medals.

• 8. Alexander Kosarev (136 pts.)– main outside hitter in two Olympic campaigns and a key player for "Belogorie".

• 7. Sergey Grankin (137 pts.)– setter #1 in the golden team of 2012.
  

  
  

• 6. Konstantin Ushakov (145 pts.)– four Olympics and a champion with clubs from Russia, Italy, and Turkey.

• 5. Alexey Kuleshov (153 pts.)– three Olympic medals and seven Russian titles.

• 4. Alexey Verbov (155 pts.)– one of the best liberos in the world, with nine Russian titles.
  

  
  

• 20. 3. Vadim Khamuttskikh (162 pts.)– charismatic leader and architect of Belogorie's successes.

• 2. Maxim Mikhaylov (189 pts.)– No. 1 opposite hitter of the 21st century with medals from all tournaments and ten titles with Zenit.
  
  

  
  

• 1. Sergey Tetyukhin (235 pts.)– a legend with six Olympic Games, four medals, and a full collection of trophies.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov