The Russian athletes were temporary suspended in late July by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) "for a fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process."
"Two years is the minimal penalty provided for such a serious violation," ARAF President Valentin Blakhnichev said, adding that the "IAAF could introduce amendments" to the decision.
The athletes, who were suspended by the international athletics association, include world 1,500-meter record holder, Yelena Soboleva, two-times world 1,500-meter champion Tatyana Tomashova, hammer thrower Gulfiya Khanafeyeva, discus thrower Darya Pishchalnikova, and middle-distance runners Svetlana Cherkasova, Yulia Fomenko and Olga Yegorova.
Soboleva, Tomashova and Pishchalnikova were tipped to win medals for Russia at the Beijing Olympics.
All the athletes denied the allegations, but accepted the IAAF provisional suspension imposed just eight days prior to the start of the Beijing Olympics to avoid embroiling the Russian team in a scandal that could have affected their performance.
The ARAF carried out its own independent investigation in early September and completed it on Monday.
Blakhnichev also said that the athletes, who were first-time offenders, could have their ban increased up to four years by the IAAF.
