Stanislav Cherchesov’s Russia, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals on home soil last year, only had to avoid defeat in Nicosia to follow Belgium in qualifying from Group I.
Michy Batshuayi got the other goal for the top team in the FIFA rankings, who began their campaign last Thursday with a 3-1 home success over Russia and now have six points from their opening two games in Group I.
Having knocked out Spain on penalties in the previous round, Russia, 70th in the FIFA rankings, again defied the odds to take 20th ranked Croatia to a shootout with a 2-2 draw after extra time but on this occasion their marksmanship deserted them at the in FIFA World Cup 2018