Ruslan Petrov started his career as a magistrate in 2004. His first position was of investigative judge in Cahul. In 2015 Mr. Petrov got a promotion to the Cahul Court of Appeal and in 2017 he took over as its chairman.

The High Council of Magistrates learned from a governmental report that Ruslan Petrov was part of the judge panel one of whose ruling had earned critical conclusions at the European Court of Human Rights. In the case Petru Roșca vs Moldova in 2009, the panel maintained the refusal of the prosecutor to launch criminal proceedings on a complaint about torture. Moldova was consequently ordered to pay 2,500 euros for non-pecuniary damages and another 1,000 euros for court expenses.