MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev was elected on Friday to the post of president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Degtyarev was the only candidate running in the election, which took place at the Olympic convention in Moscow on Friday, and after the open voting, he received 197 votes in his favor, and two abstained.

The 43-year-old new ROC president has served as the country’s sports minister since May, and he will hold both positions moving forward. Degtyarev replaces the previous ROC chief, Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

On October 15, ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov proposed that the ROC Executive Committee hold early elections in December, after which he would officially step down from his post.

Two days later, Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) President Shamil Tarpishchev proposed that Russian Sports Minister Degtyarev become the president of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Pozdnyakov, 51, has led the ROC since 2018. From 2016 to 2022, he also served as the chief of the European Fencing Confederation. He is a four-time Olympic champion in saber fencing and a ten-time world champion.

On October 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Minister Pozdnyakov for his work as the head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.

On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.