Russian stocks were driven by dividend yields and oil prices, according to analysts in Citigroup. The price for crude oil in the market was at the highest seen in 14 months, representing a 0.1% increase to US$103.36.

After adding 0.9% last week, the Micex Index rose 0.5% to 1,349.51, with the number of shares traded being 66%, below its 30-day average. Meanwhile, the RTS Index, which has its denominations in dollars, increased 0.6% to 1,275.92. Coal producer OAO Raspadskaya was the biggest gainer, with a 3.8% increase.

In an emailed report, Richard Schellbach, a Citigroup analyst, said that "Russia sits as our preferred central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa market for the second half of 2013 due to valuation reasons. We note that investor skepticism towards the market is high, and underperformance relative to emerging markets has continued throughout the first half of 2013." Citigroup gave an overweight recommendation for Russian stocks, citing low valuations.