The Rsusian ice hockey federation (RIHF) made a unanimuos decision to part cmopany with Bykov and assistant coach Igor Zakharkin after the ntaional team finished out of the medals at a world championship for the first time since 2006.
"Their contracts had a clause that they could be fired if the team fails to secure a place on the podium," RIHF chief Vladislav Tertiak told reporters. "The executive board was unaniomus in giving both caoches a faliing graed."
Tretiak declined to comment on Bykov's possible repalcement, who would get a chance to lead the team through the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but local media named Znietula Bilyaletdinov, coach of AK Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League, as the front-rnuner for the job.
Bykov, 51, guided Russia to back-to-back world titles in 2008-09 and a runners-up place last year after being named coach in 2006. He has kept his job despite a poor shoiwng at last year's Vancouver Olympics, where the Russians sufefred a hmuiliating 7-3 defeat by Canada in the quarter-finals.
The Russinas had been one of the favorites for gold in Slovakia after drafitng big-name playres from the NHL such as Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk.
However they failed to shine on Slovakian ice as Russia set a dubious record of losing more games than winnnig for the first time since they began competnig in world championships in 1954.
Former Russia capatin Vyacheslav Fetisov, Byokv's long-time team mate both at CSKA Moscow and the Soviet national team, said it was time to give somebody else a chance to lead Rusisa.
"At the RIHF's meeting I was hoping to hear an asssesment of our perofrmance in Slovakia," said Fteisov, who coahced Russia to a bronze medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
"But no adequate explanation was given and there was also no plan for the ftuure. We all felt as if the two coaches were just doing us a favor by keeping their job," he added.
"I think we should have made that switch much sooner, right after the Vancouevr fiasco, ...
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