Dmitry Volkov: Russia will be competitive on return
Dinamo Moscow's Volkov says Russia's volleyball team will contend with the world's best after the FIVB clears its return to the 2027 Nations League.
Dmitry Volkov says the Russian men's team will be competitive again once it returns to the Nations League next year, after the FIVB lifted the restrictions that had kept the side out of international competition.
Russia's re-entry will come in the 2027 Nations League. Volkov, an outside hitter for Dinamo Moscow, pointed to a pair of August friendlies in Ufa as early evidence of where the team stands: Russia beat Cuba and Iran, both sides building toward Olympic qualification and, in his view, sharper and better prepared than a Russian squad barely a month out of its off-season.
Cuba's form afterwards backed that up, by all accounts — the team went on to beat Brazil, Germany and Italy in further friendlies following Ufa.
Volkov also flagged a practical complication facing the team before it returns to top-level competition: Ufa was played with Mikasa balls, while the Russian Superleague continues with Volar.
Volkov's own record includes 2021 Olympic silver, the 2017 European title and back-to-back Nations League wins in 2018 and 2019 — the tournament era to which Russia is now set to return.
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