Russia are unquestionably a volleyball superpower and can boast a long tradition of success. They will face strong challenges in Pool B where they are up against Brazil, Iran and world champions Poland. It was the Iranian team that topped Group 1 Pool I in last year's World League as defending champions Russia missed out on the semifinals by a point, but the Russians defeated the Asian side to take fifth place at the 2014 World Championship. They took gold in both the World League and World Cup in 2011 and they also took gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In 2013, as well as the World League title they won the European Championship, earning a debut entry to the World Grand Champions Cup where they lost in the final.
The USSR Volleyball Federation joined the FIVB in 1948 and the following year they sent a team to compete in the first World Championship. They were soon regularly topping the podium at international competitions such as the Olympic Games, World and European Championships and the World Cup. The Soviet Union won three Olympic titles (1964, 1968 and 1980), six World Championships, four World Cups and 12 European championships. FIVB considers Russia as the inheritor of the records of the Soviet Union and the CIS.