It comes less than two months after the 55-year-old led the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) team to their first Olympic gold medal in 26 years at Pyeongchang 2018.

Ilya Vorobyov has been appointed the acting head coach of the team for the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship, scheduled to take place in the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning from May 4 to 20.

Znarok, the head coach of Kontinental Hockey League side SKA Saint Petersburg, will still work with the Russian team for the World Championship but as a consultant.

"Znarok has done a lot for us, winning the Olympic Games and the World Championship," Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) President Vladislav Tretiak, was reported as saying by Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"He is currently a bit tired as he had been under a heavy psychological strain both with SKA and the national team.

"This is why the RIHF decided to appoint Vorobyov as interim coach and Znarok will be the team’s consultant at this Championship."

Znarok’s long-time assistant Harijs Vitolins has also left his post.

The RHIF issued a statement saying it thanks them both "with all its heart…for their work with the national team".

Znarok became Russia's head coach in March 2014, taking over a team that lost in the quarter-finals on home ice at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

OAR beat Germany 4-3 in overtime in the Pyeongchang 2018 final.

The game at the Gangneung Hockey Centre was the first time a Russian team had appeared in an Olympic ice hockey final since 1998, when they lost 1-0 to Czech Republic in Nagano in Japan.

There was, however, controversy following the OAR's win as the victorious players sung the Russian national anthem, despite this being banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) under the terms of the nation's neutral participation in Pyeongchang.

The IOC ordered Russia to compete in South Korea under the OAR banner due to the manipulation of the doping scheme which was uncovered at Sochi 2014.

As a result, the Russian flag and any national symbols were banned.

The last Russian team to win Olympic gold was the post-Soviet Union Unified Team at Barcelona 1992.

Znarok also led Russia to four IIHF World Championship medals, including gold in 2014.

They had to settle for the silver medal in 2015 and bronze in 2016 and 2017.