ANOC has announced the formation of its ruling Executive Council for the next four years following the General Assembly in Tokyo last month.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah is listed as the "self-suspended" President after his decision to step aside following allegations of forgery, with Fiji's Robin Mitchell serving as acting head in his absence.

Pozdnyakov's appointment could be interpreted as Russia taking another step towards reintegration in the governance of the Olympic Movement after the country's widespread doping scandal made the nation a pariah in certain circles.

"The ROC’s experience regarding the implementation of major targeted projects has been recognised as effective and perspective for its future use on the global arena within the frames of cooperation between the Olympic organisations and the National Olympic Committees," an ROC statement said.

Several other changes have been made to the Executive Council, with Kazakh oligarch Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, among the new members.

Kulibayev, President of the Kazakhstan Olympic Committee, replaces Malaysia's Tunku Imran as one of five Asian representatives on the Council.

The other four - China's International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Yu Zaiqing, Randhir Singh of India, Thailand's Charouck Arirachakaran and IOC members Tsunekazu Takeda of Japan and Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski of the Philippines - remain the same as the 2014 to 2018 composition.

Algerian Mustapha Berraf is vice-president for Africa following his election as President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa.

Berraf was previously an ordinary member of the Executive Council but has stepped up to the vice-president role after he was elected to replace Lassana Palenfo.

Nigerian IOC member Habu Gumel and Matlohang Moila-Ramopoqo of Lesotho have retained their positions from the last quadrennial, while Sudan's Ahmed Abou Elgasim Hashim, Joao Manuel Da Costa Afonso Alegre of Sao Tome and Principe and Mali's Habib Sissoko have joined as new members.

The Americas region also has a new vice-president in Panam Sports head Neven Ilic, who officially takes over from Julio Maglione.

Ilic is joined by IOC members Camilo Perez of Paraguay, Canada's Tricia Smith and Luis Mejía Oviedo of Dominican Republic, as well as Grenada's Veda Bruno Victor, as  the Americas new representatives.

Keith Joseph from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the only member to keep his place on the Council.

Niels Nygaard of Denmark, Spanish Olympic Committee President Alejandro Blanco and Poland's Andrzej Krasnicki have joined as the new European members alongside existing representatives Raffaele Pagnozzi of Italy and Turkey's Nese Gündoğan.

New Zealand's Barry Maister and Auvita Rapilla of Papua New Guinea have been replaced by Australia's Helen Brownlee and James Tobin of the Federated States of Micronesia as Oceania members, with Mitchell remaining senior vice-president after taking acting charge of ANOC.

The Executive Council comprises the President, senior vice-president the secretary general and the five vice-presidents. 

Remaining members are either appointed based on their position within the Continental Associations or elected by the Continental Associations’ General Assemblies.

The full Executive Council can be found here.