[3] At 18, Ruslan auditioned for the Berklee College of Music, where he received full tuition scholarship, and moved to Boston in January 2000.

During his studies at Berklee, Ruslan displayed growing interest in R&B, funk and soul music, playing with local artists and eventually becoming the resident keyboardist in a club called "Wally's Jazz Café".

[3] Circa 2004, Ruslan joined the Stanley Clarke band[4][5] and moved to Los Angeles, thus marking the beginning of his professional career.

[6][7][8] Since then, Ruslan has been touring, performing and recording with artists such as Black Eyed Peas, Chick Corea, Kanye West, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Seal, Josh Groban, Ne-Yo, George Duke, Marcus Miller, Al Jarreau, Victor Wooten, Eric Benét, Rachelle Ferrell, Larry Carlton, Los Angeles Philharmonic and countless others.

Ruslan released his self-titled debut album, featuring Clarke, Corea and George Duke as special guests, on October 24, 2011.