By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV .c The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - Slava Fetisov, who coached Russia to an Olympic bronze medal in hockey, has agreed to become the nation's sports chief.

The former assistant coach of the New Jersey Devils will lead the Russian State Sports Committee, the top government agency overseeing sports. A government announcement on Fetisov is expected soon.

The decision was announced Friday by Gennady Shvets, a spokesman for Leonid Tyagachev, president of the National Olympic Committee.

Fetisov would replace Pavel Rozhkov, who had been criticized for not speaking more forcefully on behalf of Russian athletes at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Fetisov recently had several meetings with President Vladimir Putin. As chief of the sports committee, he would oversee Putin's drive to encourage sports and fitness nationwide.

Putin called a Kremlin meeting in February to draw up a program of bolstering state support for sports. The comparatively poor performance of the Russian team in Salt Lake City made the task even more pressing.

Fetisov helped the Soviet Union win two Olympic titles and six world championships. He was considered by many to be the best defenseman in the world in the 1980s.

He joined the Devils in 1989 after barriers to pro hockey fell in the Soviet Union, and helped the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 1997 and 1998. Fetisov and Vladislav Tretiak are the only Russians in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

04/12/02 08:57 EDT