The Russians were outfought and outplayed by a makeshift Irish side missing injured striker Kyle Lafferty and sick defender Jonny Evans at Windsor Park.
The goal came in the 43rd minute when a superb cross on the run by Niall McGinn was met with power and precision by Paterson who guided the ball low inside Igor Akinfeev's right-hand post.
The Irish could have been ahead minutes earlier when a fierce 20-metre shot from Jamie Ward hit the foot of a post with Akinfeev beaten.
Northern Ireland also had a goal ruled out for offside when, after 58 minutes, Paterson headed home again from Gareth McAuley's header across goal but the linesman's flag went up.
The Russians could not muster a shot on target and Irish keeper Roy Carroll was never seriously troubled.
It was Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill's first win after 10 games in charge.
"It's a big result for us. The players were fantastic. There were 11 great players on the pitch. The team ethic and the work ethic, the understanding were just what was required," he told Sky Sports.
"A lot of our players came of age tonight," O'Neill added.
Russia stay second behind Portugal and remain a point ahead of Israel who have also played six games and have 11 points.
The match was twice postponed in March because of snow.
(Writing by Tony Goodson in London; Editing by Ed Osmond)
