Maksim Karaev

Karaev's path into professional football began at Dynamo Moscow's academy, from where he moved into senior football with Dynamo-2 Moscow in the Second League. A switch to Olimp-Dolgoprudny followed, where he made his debut in the First League, before he joined Rodina Moscow in 2022, appearing across both the First League and Second League for the Moscow club.

The loan convinced the club: Sibir triggered an option to sign him permanently that July for a reported fee of €80,000. He went on to make his home in Novosibirsk, playing for Sibir in the Second League through the following season.

In July 2026, Karaev moved on again, joining Shinnik Yaroslavl as a free agent on a two-year contract. Across his career he has amassed close to 140 appearances and four goals. He has also represented Russia's under-19 side, earning three caps at that level.

Karaev has had to contend with a persistent case of mistaken identity: reports over the years linked him to clubs including Anji, Ural, Akron, Tyumen, Forte and Tekstilshchik, but those moves in fact belonged to his former teammate Nikita Chistyakov, whose career was repeatedly conflated with his own.