FC Tomsk are a step closer to relegation after Otar Martsvaladze came off the FC Krasnodar bench to score one goal and set up a second in a 3-1 defeat for the Siberians on Sunday.
Krasnodar stay ninth, with a five-point gap to Amkar Perm in tenth, while Tomsk are 15th, eight points from safety.
Depending on results, Tomsk could be relegated in two weeks’ time, which would leave Russia’s top flight without a Siberian team for the first time since 2004.
Pavel Golyshev left Tomsk when the team came close to bankruptcy in the winter break, and took his revenge on his former club by opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time.
Alexey Rebko equalized with his first goal for Tomsk on 68 minutes, before Marcio played in Martsvaladze on 76 minutes to restore Krasnodar’s lead.
The hosts pulled clear six minutes later when the Georgian turned provider, playing a square ball for Joaozinho to score into an empty net.
On Saturday, Zenit St. Petersburg extended their lead at the top to 11 points with a win over Lokomotiv Moscow, as second-placed CSKA Moscow toiled in a goalless draw with Anzhi and Rubin Kazan drew 1-1 with Dynamo Moscow.
In the relegation group, FC Volga drew 0-0 with Krylya Sovetov on Friday, and Terek Grozny beat Spartak Nalchik 2-0. On Saturday, Amkar beat FC Rostov 1-0.
Spartak Moscow can go third with a win against Dan Petrescu's FC Kuban later Sunday.