PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the world, announced this week that it is launching a new Russian poker tour, the first in the country.

The tour will make two stops, beginning with a $5,000 buy-in event in St. Petersburg from January 25 to February 1, followed by a $10,000 buy-in tournament in the capital Moscow February 22 to February 28.

The St. Petersburg event will see each player start with 15,000 chips. The rules will be the same as those on the European Poker Tour.

Growing Russian Interest

Interest in poker, and in particular Texas hold-'em has grown in Russia of late, and has been matched by success in big tournaments.

Ivan Demidov is the best known of the locals, having become the first ever player in history to reach the final table of both World Series of Poker Main Events in 2008. He collected almost $6 million in prize money after a second place finish to Dane Peter Eastgate in the Main Event, and backed that up in October with a third place finish at the Europe Main Event in London.

Alex Kravchenko won a WSOP bracelet last year, becoming the first ever Russian to do so. He also overtook Kirill Gerasimov in 2007 as the all-time leading money winner among Russian players.