Career
Akbarov began skating in 1968 at the Lokomotiv Skating Club in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) with coach Alexander Rogin. He teamed up with Veronica Pershina in 1975. The pair moved to Moscow in 1978 to train with Stanislav Zhuk.
In 1980, Pershina/Akbarov made their senior World Championship debut, placing 6th.
The pair changed coaches to Irina Rodnina in 1982. Pershina/Akbarov were gold medalists at the 1982 Prize of Moscow News and 1983 Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai Trophy.
They took silver at the Skate Canada International in their final season. After retiring from competition, Akbarov performed with the Russian All Stars under the direction of Tatiana Tarasova, before becoming a coach.
He coaches at the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy in Wheaton, Maryland.