It will be the first time in the race's 34-year history that the fleet will visit a Russian port.
"Russia has made tremendous steps in the last few years in its capacity to host major sporting events and recently won the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi," said Volvo Ocean Race chief executive Glenn Bourke.
The race is scheduled to last nearly 10 months, cover more than 39,000 nautical miles and visit up to 12 ports.
Russia will also have their own entry in the round-the-world race, backed by St Petersburg businessman Oleg Zherebtsov.
