Baltika
Full nameFootball Club
Baltika Kaliningrad
Nickname(s)Balda
Founded1954 (1954)
GroundKaliningrad Stadium
Capacity35,016
OwnerKaliningrad/Kaliningrad Oblast
ChairmanKirill Volzhenkin
ManagerSergei Ignashevich
LeagueRussian Premier League
2022–23Russian First League, 2nd of 18th (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

FC Baltika (Russian: Акционерное Общество «Футбольный клуб «Балтика») is a professional association football club based in Kaliningrad, Russia. The club will be promoted to the Russian Premier League for the 2023–24 season.[1]

History

The club was founded on 22 December 1954 as Pishchevik Kaliningrad. In 1958 the club was renamed Baltika.

The team entered the Soviet League in 1957 and played in Class B (1957–1965), Class A, Group 2 (1966–1970), and Second League (1971–1991). The best result was achieved in 1984, when Baltika won the regional group tournament.

In 1992 Baltika entered the Russian Second Division and won the regional tournament and promotion to the First Division. After a fourth-place finish in 1993 and third position in 1994 Baltika won the division in 1995. In 1996 Baltika achieved the best result in club's history, finishing 7th in the Top Division, the Russian Premier League. Baltika were relegated in 1998, spending a total of three seasons in the top flight. In 1998 Baltika participated in the Intertoto Cup and reached the third round.

Since then, Baltika played in the First Division, except for the 2002 and 2005 seasons which they spent in the Second Division.

In 2018–19 Russian Football National League, they finished 16th (a relegation spot). However, PFL zone East winners FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk did not apply for the FNL license, keeping Baltika in the league.[2]

On 19 May 2023, Baltika secured a promotion to the Russian Premier League for the first time in 25 years.[1]

League results

Russian First DivisionRussian Second DivisionRussian First DivisionRussian Second DivisionRussian First DivisionRussian Premier LeagueRussian First DivisionRussian Second Division

Current squad

As of 30 December 2023, according to the official Russian Premier League website.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Russia RUS Yevgeni Latyshonok
2 DF Russia RUS Aleksandr Zhirov
3 DF Russia RUS Kirill Malyarov
4 DF France FRA Nathan Gassama
5 MF Russia RUS Aleksandr Osipov
6 MF Russia RUS Maksim Kuzmin
7 DF Bolivia BOL Roberto Fernández (on loan from Bolívar)
9 FW Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Gedeon Guzina
10 MF Russia RUS Yan Kazayev
13 DF Chile CHI Guillermo Soto
16 GK Russia RUS Aleksandr Koryakin
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF Croatia CRO Kristijan Bistrović (on loan from CSKA Moscow)
18 FW Chile CHI Ángelo Henríquez
19 MF Russia RUS Sergei Pryakhin
21 DF Serbia SRB Ivan Ostojić
23 DF Russia RUS Aleksandr Putsko
26 DF Serbia SRB Nikola Radmanovac
35 GK Russia RUS Soslan Dzhanayev
59 MF Armenia ARM Tigran Avanesyan
66 MF Portugal POR João Lameira
67 GK Russia RUS Maksim Borisko
89 MF Russia RUS Vladislav Lazarev

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Russia RUS Gocha Gogrichiani (at Volgar Astrakhan until 30 June 2024)

Reserve team

Reserve team

Baltika's reserve team played professionally in the Russian Third League in 1994 as FC Baltika-d Kaliningrad and in the Russian Second Division in 2006 and 2007 as FC Baltika-2 Kaliningrad.

Notable players

These players had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Baltika.

Club staff

Position Staff
Manager Russia Sergei Ignashevich
Assistant Manager Russia Dmitri Michkov
First-Team Coach Russia Leonid Tkachenko
First-Team Coach Belarus Artsyom Buloychyk
Fitness Coach Russia Mikhail Solovey
Club Doctor Russia Ruslan Zasiev
Team Manager Russia Evgeniy Buda

References

  1. 1 2 "«Балтика» завоевала право участия в Мир РПЛ" [Baltika secured the right to participate in Mir RPL] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 19 May 2023.
  2. "Сахалин" выиграл первенство ПФЛ в зоне "Восток", но не сыграет в ФНЛ [Sakhalin won the PFL East zone, but will not play in the FNL] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 28 May 2019.
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