Lokomotiv held off Moscow rivals Dynamo on Sunday to record their second win of the season, while reigning champions Rubin failed to find a way past Saturn and were held 0-0 by the draw specialists.
Lokomotiv went behind after 22 minutes when former Liverpool forward Andrei Voronin got his first goal for Dynamo.
The Railwaymen turned to their own Ukrainian new boy to get back into the game, Andrei Aliyev continuing his fine form to grab his fourth goal of the season on the stroke of halftime.
Aliyev gave the home side the lead after 68 minutes, curling a free kick around the wall and into the bottom corner. Dmitry Tarasov seemed to have made the game safe in the 85th minute, but Dynamo kept the Lokomotiv fans on edge right to the end. Ultimately, though, the visitors could not add to Dmitry Kombarov's 88th-minute penalty.
Lokomotiv coach Yury Semin said his side deserved the victory, especially after conceding the opening goal against the run of play.
"We were intense and we deserved this victory, although the match was not simple," he said.
Dynamo trainer Andrei Kobelev was left to rue his side's missed chances.
"In recent matches we have been creating opportunities, but we just can't score," he said, adding that his team "did not deserve to lose."
In the Moscow Region town of Ramenskoye, Saturn recorded their third draw of the Russian Premier League season. Rubin remain undefeated, but missed the chance to join Spartak Nalchik back on top of the league.
The champions from Kazan have still not let in a league goal this year, but after winning their first two games with late goals, two goalless draws suggest they could be missing their top scorer from last season, Argentinean forward Alejandro Dominguez.
In the first game of the day, Spartak Moscow's inconsistent start to the season continued as they came from behind twice for a 2-2 draw against Tom in Tomsk.
Last season's golden boot winner Welliton canceled out Belarusian Sergey Kornilenko's opener, while another Brazilian, Ibson, got the second equalizer after Valery Klimov had put the hosts back in front.
In Sunday's other game, Terek Grozny became the latest team to take advantage of Krylya Sovetov with a 2-0 win that took them second ahead of Rubin on goal difference.
The Chechens' goals both came from Hector Bracamonte, his first for the club after being signed last year from FC Moskva, who went bust in February.
Samara side Krylya Sovetov almost joined the Muscovites in going out of business before the season started, but despite finding a way to keep going they have lost all four games.
On Saturday, Spartak Nalchik went clear at the top with 10 points after a 5-2 win over Rostov, Anzhi Makhachkala won their first game, 2-0 against fellow promoted side Alania Vladikavkaz, and Amkar joined the group on seven points by beating Sibir 3-1 in Perm.
CSKA Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg remain on seven points after their match at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium was called off due to security concerns following last Monday's bomb attacks in the capital.
Sunday's results
Tom Tomsk 2-2 Spartak Moscow
Terek Grozny 2-0 Krylya Sovetov
Saturn 0-0 Rubin Kazan
Lokomotiv Moscow 3-2 Dynamo Moscow
Saturday's results
Amkar Perm 3-1 Sibir
Anzhi Makhachkala 2-0 Alania Vladikavkaz
Spartak Nalchik 5-2 Rostov
CSKA Moscow v Zenit St. Petersburg - postponed
Table (four games unless stated)
Spartak Nalchik 4 10
Terek Grozny 8
Rubin Kazan 8
CSKA Moscow 7 (3 games)
Tom Tomsk 7
Zenit St. Petersburg 7 (3)
Amkar 7
Lokomotiv Moscow 6
Spartak Moscow 5
Anzhi Makhachkala 4
Dynamo Moscow 4
Rostov 4
Saturn 3
Alania Vladikavkaz 2
Sibir 1
Krylya Sovetov 0
MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti)
