The meeting, which took place in Khimki, ended with a score of 3: 1 in favor of the guests.
Khimki scored first.
Ilya Kukharchuk scored on the 28th minute.
Zenit responded with a goal from Serdar Azmun in the 33rd minute, as well as substitutes Alexander Erokhin, who scored in the 72nd minute, and Alexei Sutormin, who converted a penalty in the 76th minute.
In the second round, Zenit will play away against Rostov, and Khimki will play against Krasnodar.
Earlier it was reported that Dynamo beat Rostov in the opening match of the RPL season.