Vladimir Repyev started playing handball when he was 15-years-old. At the club level, Repyev played with Krasnodar Urozhay and Krasnodar Universitet. He was selected to the Soviet national team after winning silver at the 1977 World Junior Championships. He was capped 30 times with the Soviet national team between 1977 and 1981, winning silver at the 1980 Olympics and 1979 World Cup. Repyev retired from sports in 1982 and concentrated on his studies at the Krasnodar Polytechnic Institute (now Kuban State Technological University), but made a brief comeback in 1990, after defending his doctoral degree in electrical engineering, to win his only medal, a bronze, at the Soviet championships with SKIF Krasnodar. After finishing his studies, Repyev worked for a long time as an engineer with Kubanenergo, the largest power grid company of the Krasnodar region. In the 2000s, Repyev also worked as a handball commentator with TV channels Eurosport and RTR-Sport.