Moscow: Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov was elected president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) on Thursday after being endorsed by the Kremlin hierarchy.
He succeeds Leonid Tyagachyov, who resigned as ROC chief on March 3, two days after President Dmitry Medvedev ordered top sports officials to quit or be fired following the country's worst ever showing at February's Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Zhukov, a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, was the only candidate for the post after being nominated last month following a high-level meeting in the Kremlin.
Zhukov, who turns 54 next month, has been in charge of preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and also headed the Russian Chess Federation between 2003-09.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 17:38