Defending champions Spartak Moscow claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win at Rubin Kazan on Saturday to narrow the gap on Russian Premier League leaders Lokomotiv Moscow.

Brazilian Luiz Adriano struck an 81st-minute winner for Spartak after Rubin's Ecuadorian midfielder Christian Noboa cancelled out a first-half goal from Algerian midfielder Sofiane Hanni.

Second-placed Spartak are five points adrift of Lokomotiv, whose game with Akhmat Grozny has been postponed until April 18 due to Sunday's Russian presidential elections.

"Rubin are a team that knows how to play football," Spartak manager Massimo Carrera said.

"It was a hard match but my men showed strong character. After Rubin levelled we altered our play and reversed the situation. I'm pleased with my players' performance today."

Spartak went ahead through Hanni, who joined from Anderlecht in January, on 18 minutes when he converted a rebound after Rubin goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev parried his initial close-range shot.

An inspired Dzhanaev prevented Spartak from adding to their lead, and Rubin hit back on the hour mark when Noboa planted home a header from a left-wing cross by Gokdeniz Karadeniz.

But Adriano pounced on a defensive lapse to lash in a low shot nine minutes from time to earn Spartak a seventh league win in their last eight matches, although Noboa nearly snatched a point late on when his 30-yard free-kick crashed against the woodwork.

Elsewhere, fourth-placed Krasnodar lost further ground as they slumped to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Ufa.

Krasnodar dominated play but were left to rue their inability to score as Croatian midfielder Ivan Paurevic turned in the winning goal for Ufa on 72 minutes.

"To get all three points in Krasnodar is an excellent result for our modest team," Ufa head coach Sergei Semak said.