Aryanews- Moscow's poor performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics claimed its first victim on Wednesday, with the head of Russia's National Olympic Committee (RNOC) handing in his resignation.
Leonid Tyagachyov, 63, announced he was leaving the job after receiving sharp criticism in a meeting with Kremlin leader Dmitry Medvedev, the Interfax news agency reported.
Medvedev called members of the present RNOC senior management "overfed tomcats," and called for dramatic reforms in the country's national sports bureaucracy after Russian athletes brought home 15 medals from the Vancouver Games.
Moscow's state-run media during the pre-Olympics runup had predicted Russia would win from 27 to 31 medals. Russia's Sports Minister Minister Vitaly Mutko "was reluctant" to respond to Medvedev's call that he and officials like him quit their positions, according to the report.
Tyagachyov, also employed as personal ski instructor to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, was elected to head the RNOC in 2001, and in 2009 was voted by committee members to a third term in office.
He had worked previously as Russia's Sports and Tourism Minister, and in the 1970s as the Soviet Union's senior downhill skiing coach.
The Russian city of Sochi is hosting the Winter Games in 2014.