Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack scored for the home side in Dortmund, before Andrei Arshavin pulled one back for Russia in the second half.

Germany remain top with seven points, one ahead of Wales, who beat minnows Liechtenstein 2-0. Russia come third with three points from two games.

In the same group, Finland secured a 1-0 home victory over Azerbaijan.

England Hammer Kazakhstan

England maintained their 100% record in Group 6 after overwhelming Kazakhstan 5-1 at Wembley.

The English had to wait until the second half to find the net though, when Rio Ferdinand headed in the opener seven minutes after the break.

Kazakhstan defender Alexandr Kuchma scored an own goal 12 minutes later, before Zhambyl Kukeyev surprisingly put the visitors back in contention four minutes later.

However, Wayne Rooney netted a quickfire double to ensure victory for Fabio Capello's team, while the in-form Jermain Defoe added a fifth in injury time.

England have nine points at the summit, followed by Ukraine and Croatia, who played out a goalless draw in Kiev. Ukraine are second with seven points, Croatia have four.