The Perwenstwo FNL ( Russian Первенство Футбольной Национальной Лиги Perwenstwo Futbolnoi Nazionalnoi Ligi ), short- FNL , to 1997 Pervaya league ( first league ), 1998-2010 Perwy diwision ( 1st Division ), the second is Russian football -Spielklasse and run by the Russian Football League operated. The league consists of 20 teams, two of which are promoted to the Premjer League each season and five are relegated to the Perwenstwo PFL .
After the collapse of the Soviet Union , all the clubs of the Soviet Premjer Division and Soviet 1st Division together formed a single top league, which meant that the new 1st division, called 2nd division, was limited to the regional level. Thus, in the first two years until 1994, three regional leagues formed the second Russian division. From this point on, they only played in a second division.