Yuri Luzhkov, long-time mayor of Moscow, critiqued President Medvedev for being indecisive and insinuated that Putin would be better to return to the presidency. Several days later, Medvedev did something unprecedented: he fired one of the most politically powerful officials in Russia.
With the presidential election approaching, there has been much speculation about which man - Medvedev or Putin - will emerge as the strong candidate for United Russia, the ruling party. (Neither have been very committal about it, though Putin has been noted lately for his publicity stunts.) This speculation is what encouraged Luzhkov to make remarks seemingly intended to drive a wedge between the two men, by faulting the current president but not the former. At first, however, it seemed there might not be any retribution for the attack.
And then, last Tuesday, the President took action. Luzhkov was fired and a deputy mayor appointed. At first, the mayor seemed inclined to fight the decision; but he has since resigned himself to creating an opposition movement within the ruling party, claiming that true democracy is not being practiced. In addition to being fired (which some suggest occurred because he was too expensive to buy off) Luzhkov's name has been dragged through the mud by government-run media programs making suggestions about why his wife, a building contractor, became the wealthiest woman in Russia while he was in office (something no one complained about beforehand).
The abrupt change in city government has also prompted much reflection about the life of Moscow in general. It is acknowledged that under Luzhkov, Moscow rose from a suffering post-Soviet slump in 1992 to a modern metropolis bursting with new cars and tall buildings. At the same time, however, many Russian citizens agree that it was time for him to go - even though most feel he didn't go for the right reason. The consensus seems to be that the mayor’s removal should have been a move to fight entrenched government, rather than perpetuate it. The president maintains that he had "lost trust" in the mayor, and that the action was a justified one. Putin, who has remained relatively neutral and conciliatory throughout the affair, tastefully took Medvedev's side. Highly discussed and controversial as the move was, it is certainly irrevocable at this point; all that remains for Luzhkov to do is stir up debate from a citizen's position - if the vestiges of his political power allow.
The New York Times, Russian voices:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/world/europe/29voices.html?_r=1&ref=russia
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/world/europe/29voices.html?_r=1&ref=russia
he Moscow Times on Luzhkov's continued presence:
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