MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - Rubin FC won their first Russian Premier League title after beating Moscow Region side Saturn 2-1 on Sunday.
The victory means that Rubin are now 10 points clear of second-placed side CSKA Moscow, with only three games left before the end of the Russian championship.
The title goes to the republic of Tatarstan in the year that the club marks its 50th anniversary.
Rubin's win means that now it is the third time, after Alania Vladikavkaz in 1995 and Zenit St. Petersburg last year, that a team from outside Moscow has won the Russian championship.
For the first time this year, the top three teams in the Russian Premier League will qualify for the 2009-2010 Champions League. The top two clubs will go straight into the group stages, with the third-placed team starting in the second qualifying round. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams will enter the UEFA Cup, while the bottom two sides are relegated.
