The 'stopper, often ridiculed for his record run in the Champions League without a clean sheet, saved two penalties to dump out 'La Roja' and keep Stanislav Cherchesov's men on the march.
Spain were heavy favourites to win the game and heavily tipped to win the tournament, but their inability to turn their possession into tangible chances cost them at the Luzhniki Stadium.
'La Roja' got off to the perfect start when Sergei Ignashevich put through his own net with just 11 minutes gone, the veteran more concerned with attempting to wrestle with Sergio Ramos than focus on the ball, allowing Marco Asensio's ball in to bounce off his heel and beyond a helpless Akinfeev.
Fernando Hierro's side continued to dominate possession from there on in, but they failed to break down Russia's five-man back line as the hosts kept their discipline.
Their patience was rewarded four minutes before the break when Gerard Pique inexplicably blocked Artem Dzyuba's goalbound header with a hand, leading referee Bjorn Kuipers to immediately point to the spot.
The big man claimed the responsibility with the spot-kick, sending David De Gea the wrong way to restore parity.
The second half brought much of the same as Spain had all of the ball without ever looking like hurting their opponents.
A brief spell of excitement towards the end of the 90 saw substitutes Andres Iniesta and Iago Aspas denied by a fine double save form Akinfeev, before Fyodor Smolov blazed wide at the other end after having the ball presented to him by Sergio Busquets.
With that miss, the game moved into extra time, with Koke and Asensio both failing to break the stubborn Russian resistance with efforts from range.
Just six minutes form time Spain thought they had a penalty of their own, only for both Kuipers and VAR to deem Gerard Pique had not been fouled as he tried to convert Koke's free-kick.
The intorduction of Rodrigo as Spain's fourth substitute injected osme much-needed pace and directness into Spain's play, but despite forcing two saves from Akinfeev in his limited time on the pitch, he too was unable to break the deadlock.
That saw the game decided by spot-kicks, with Akinfeev twice diving away to his right to deny Koke and Aspas and send the Russian populace delirious.
Spain become the latest giant to be sent home with their tail between their legs, whilst Russia will face either Denmark or Croatia in the last eight on Saturday.
July 1, 2018