Yakin arrives in Russia with Spartak having finished sixth in the Russian Premier League, missing out on UEFA Europa League qualification.
The former Switzerland international left Basel at the end of last season, having guided the club to the Super League title in each of the last two campaigns.
He missed out on the double on both occasions, though, losing the Swiss Cup final in both 2013 and 2014.
As a player, Yakin won five Swiss Super League titles, as well as three Swiss Cups and a runners-up medal in the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1998 with Stuttgart.
Yakin joined Basel in October 2012, and led the club to the Europa League semi-finals at the end of his first season, before they were beaten by eventual winners Chelsea.
After exiting the UEFA Champions League at the group stage last season, they dropped into Europe's secondary competition, reaching the last eight before a stirring second-leg comeback from Valencia saw them crash out 5-3 on aggregate.
