Due to the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, all Russian clubs of the former
Soviet Top League and
Soviet First League unified into the
Russian Top Division, which meant that the new second tier of
Russian football would remain regionalized. On 10 June 2022, the number of teams in the league was reduced from 20 to 18 for the 2022–23 season. On the same day, the league requested
Russian Football Union to rename the league to its historical name of Russian First League. RFU officially approved the name change on 23 June 2022. On the same date the league announced that the league's title sponsor would be a
bookmaker Melbet. ==Current clubs==