Leonid Tyagachev resigned last month following Russia's poor performance at the Olympics in Vancouver, where they finished only 11th in the overall medals table with 15 medals, their worst performance since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Russian business daily Vedemosti reported that Zhukov's appointment has already been approved by senior figures within the ROC and several sports federations.

The newspaper also claimed it has also been backed by the Russian Government, even though it would appear to go against an order last year by President Dmitry Medvedev that all sports federations must be run by full-time professionals and not politicians, a directive which forced Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko to step down as President of the Russian Football Union.

Tyagachev himself had suggested that a Deputy Prime Minister might become the ROC's new President.

Zhukov is already the President of the Russian Chess Federation and chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sochi 2014.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the appointment of the ROC's President has not been discussed in the Government.

Putin, himself, was initially put forward as a potential candidate for the position but the idea was abandoned after the terrorist attacks on the Moscow metro, which has forced the Russian Government to confront its domestic problems.

The election of the ROC's President is scheduled for May 20, but the deadline for applications is April 19.

The committee's first vice-president Igor Kazikov is currently serving as acting President.


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