MKN were relegated to the Russian Second Division after an 18th-place finish in 2005, and only finished 2nd in the "East" region, thus keeping them down another season. However, Lada Togliatti and Dinamo Makhachkala were denied licences for the First Division and thus also relegated. This, alongside the bankruptcy of Angusht Nazran, pushed Metallurg up alongside other second-place finishers SKA Rostov-na-Donu and Mordovia Saransk.