Fr om 1 to 11 April, the Russian Men's and Women's Volleyball Championship took place at Kaluga’s Tsentralny Sports Palace, in the City of Cosmonautics. A total of 14 teams (eight men’s and six women’s) from eight regions of Russia competed in the event.
At the opening ceremony all participants and guests of the event were warmly welcomed by Roman Zhulenko, Deputy Minister of Sport of Kaluga Region; Eduard Stankevich, Director of the Sports-Adaptive School of Deaflympic and Paralympic Rreserve “Everest”; Aleksander Seregin, Deputy Director of the Sports Training Centre “Annenki”; as well as Sergei Usov and Yulia Morozova, Chairmen of the regional branches of OSFSG and VOG. The event was further brightened by a performance from the creative group “Cosmic Youth”.
Over nine intense days, teams battled through the round-robin stage, followed by play-offs, semi-finals, and final matches. By the end of the round-robin phase, the top contenders for the championship titles had already emerged.
The Kaluga Region team dominated their matches, though the women’s squad faced fierce competition from Moscow Region, while the men’s team kept pace with rivals from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Novosibirsk.
In the women’s semi-finals, Kaluga faced Krasnoyarsk Region, while Moscow Region clashed with St. Petersburg. The gold-medal match was a thrilling five-set battle, wh ere the tournament favorites, Kaluga, narrowly lost to Moscow Region (2-3) in a dramatic finale.
The men’s competition featured four semi-finalists: Novosibirsk Region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, Moscow, and Kaluga Region. The final saw Khanty-Mansiysk and Novosibirsk battling for gold, while Moscow secured bronze with a 3-0 victory over Kaluga. The championship decider was another nail-biting tie-break, with Khanty-Mansiysk ultimately prevailing.
Most matches were broadcast live on the Deaf Volleyball News page for dedicated fans.
Winners & Prize-Winners
Women’s Championship:
1st place - Moscow Region
2 place - Kaluga Region
3 place - St. Petersburg
Men’s Championship:
1st place - Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra
2nd place - Novosibirsk Region
3rd place - Moscow
Best Players of the Championship:
Viktor Rukavishnikov (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yurga)
Vladimir Buleiko (Novosibirsk Region)
Nikita Ivanov (Moscow)
Natalia Trubova (Moscow Region)
Anna Usova (Kaluga Oblast)
Anastasia Mitrofanova (St. Petersburg)
Aleksandr Kudriashov, Head Coach of the Russian National Women's Volleyball Team: “The championship was well-organized for the third consecutive year—excellent catering, accommodation, and refereeing. As for the women’s level of play, the team is still young, so performance has dipped slightly, but this will improve with time. In the final, the Kaluga team struggled with the psychological pressure, which cost them the match. Next, we prepare for the international tournament in Kyrgyzstan (July) and training camps ahead of the Summer Deaflympics.”
Vasilii Kovalchuk, Head Coach of the Russian National Men's Volleyball Team: “Compared to 2024, the championship’s level has risen significantly. Kaluga competed strongly against Moscow, Khanty-Mansiysk, and Novosibirsk. Many young players (2004 and younger) showed promise, and nearly the same squad will return next year. St. Petersburg’s team (8th place) impressed with their young talent (2006-2009 birth years), several of whom are on the junior national team. Khanty-Mansiysk’s victory came from their experience—they’ve competed in the hearing league (1st division, Ural District) for seven years. Key players like Nikita Rusanov (Surgut, RF Youth League) and Victor Rukavishnikov (Higher League B, IzhGTU-Izhevsk) excelled in critical moments. Their height advantage (three players over 2m, six over 195cm) also played a role—other teams had far fewer tall athletes.”
Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Maria Mazhenina
Photo: Olga Zakharova
Translation: Daria Kudelina
