Russia's IOC members' position has been unaffected by the measures taken in response to the war in Ukraine, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sanctioned Tarpishchev and Isinbayeva, as well as honorary members Vitaly Smirnov and Alexander Popov last month.

While the IOC had recommended the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international sport since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, its Executive Board this week took the decision expected in recent months to pave the way for their return as Individual Neutral Athletes.

This came with the caveat that athletes and support personnel who support the war in Ukraine cannot compete, and neither can those "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies".

Isinbayeva holds a military rank in Russia, and IOC President Thomas Bach revealed that the Executive Board had sought clarification from the Ethics Commission on the impact its revised recommendations would have on the IOC members.

"The IOC Executive Board has addressed this question and we have forwarded the respective question to the IOC Ethics Commission to evaluate what the impact of our recommendations and strict conditions for the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport would have on the IOC members in Russia," Bach said.

Bach also said determining who is "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies" is a "very complex issue", and it has consulted with military and sports experts to reach its recommendations.

Bach clarified the definition the IOC is basing its recommendations on, and urged International Federations to establish an independent panel to assess athletes on a case-by-case basis.

"It is more or less to make the difference between the mandatory military service, which in Russia is mandatory for all male people for one year, and the ones who are then after this mandatory service serving because of their own will in the army or such services," he said.

The IOC Ethics Commission was established in 1999 in the wake of the Salt Lake City 2002 bribery scandal "to safeguard the ethical principles of the Olympic Movement" laid out in the Code of Ethics, but has not communicated any decision since clearing FIFA President Gianni Infantino of wrongdoing in February 2021 following claims he had breached the Olympic Charter.

It is chaired by former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon, and consists of a further four independent members alongside four IOC members.

Tarpishchev is the President of the Russian Tennis Federation and has been an IOC member since 1994, while 40-year-old two-time Olympic pole vault champion Isinbayeva is has held membership since 2016 after being elected as part of the Athletes' Commission.

Isinbayeva's two-terms are due to expire at Paris 2024. 

Tarpishchev was a former member of the Soviet Red Army.

In 2014, the Women's Tennis Association fined Tarpishchev $25,000 (£20,000/€23,000) and forced him to apologise for making racist and sexist comments regarding American superstars Venus and Serena Williams.

At the 2021 Davis Cup Finals, Tarpishchev led the Russian Tennis Federation team, including Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, to victory, securing the country's first championship in 15 years. 

Former Russian Olympic Committee President Smirnov became an honorary member in 2016, the same year as four-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Popov.

The IOC has previously insisted "the IOC members are not representatives of their country within the IOC".

Tarpishchev and Isinbayeva both failed to attend the hybrid third day of the IOC Session in Lausanne in May last year, which followed on from the first two days at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing before the invasion of Ukraine.

There are no Belarusian members or honorary members of the IOC.