Vladimir Sushkov is probably the most famous Russian renju player today. His renju skill and style are most remarkable! He can put a big pressure on his opponents, by playing the variants which are seemingly risky, but yet under his control.
The results speak very clearly of his abilities: he has gotten the 2nd place in World Championships three (!!) times - 2001, 2003, 2005. It is also worth to mention that in the World Championship 2001 he got 9 points from 11 games which normally would be enough to get the 1st place in any of the World Championships.
At present, he is still in very good shape, and one of the main candidates for the World Champion title in 2007.