Translated material
Know the mayor
The Kremlin accused Yuri Luzhkov of trying to quarrel the tandem
The conflict between the Kremlin and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov is becoming increasingly open. For the first time, the Kremlin publicly threatened the capital's mayor with consequences in connection with his attempts to cause discord in the ruling tandem.On Wednesday evening, a source in the presidential administration told Interfax that the country's leadership regards as futile the attempts of some representatives of the Moscow authorities to “drive a wedge into the relationship between the country's president and the prime minister.” According to a representative of the Kremlin administration, “this is clearly unacceptable and absolutely does not correspond to the real relationship between the head of state and the chairman of the government.” The message, without a doubt, is addressed personally to Mayor Luzhkov.
According to a source in the Kremlin administration, “the Moscow authorities were overzealous in their attempts to push the president and the prime minister into conflict.” Moreover, the source said: “It is obvious that such attempts will not go unnoticed without an appropriate response.” But he did not specify what it could be.
In recent months, experts have been increasingly predicting the mayor’s imminent resignation. Yuri Luzhkov, 74, remains Russia's oldest regional head, having been in office for almost 20 years.
The Moscow City Hall has not yet commented on the Kremlin’s new statements. Mr. Luzhkov himself was on a business trip in Bulgaria yesterday.
The Kremlin administration's open dissatisfaction with the behavior of Yuri Luzhkov has been observed since the beginning of August, when Moscow found itself in thick smog during the summer fires. The mayor of the capital at that moment was on vacation abroad “to treat a sports injury.” His press secretary Sergei Tsoi initially even said that Mr. Luzhkov had no plans to interrupt his vacation. However, six days after the start of his vacation , the mayor returned to the city and went to work on August 9 .
On August 10, Yuri Luzhkov was received by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and, according to the mayor, praised him for returning early from vacation (some observers, however, regarded this not so much as praise, but as an ironic remark). However, on the same day, a source in the presidential administration said: “Of course, it’s good that Yuri Mikhailovich returned and took up his duties, but it’s a pity that this was not done earlier. The absence of the mayor clearly did not help ensure that the necessary decisions were made on time.”
Also on August 10, Yuri Luzhkov sharply criticized Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov , making it clear that it was largely his fault that Moscow found itself in a difficult environmental situation.
On September 1, in the “Facing the City” program on the capital’s TVC channel, the mayor of Moscow decided to respond to the Kremlin administration. Speaking to television viewers, he said that, on the one hand, there was support from the prime minister of the government, Vladimir Putin, “on the other hand, there was a kick from the administration.” “You see, six days (vacation - Ed. ) is a lot. I returned as soon as possible,” said Mr. Luzhkov.
The next day, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper published an article “Competition around Moscow” - about the intrigues that allegedly lie behind the press attacks on Luzhkov: “Someone very urgently needed the mayor to break down and leave right now.” This someone is on the president’s team, the article stated: “The team of the current first person is pressing with such force that the situation, in particular the direct persecution of the mayor of Moscow from behind the battlements, goes far beyond the bounds of all political decency.” Well, the main point of the article was that Medvedev’s criticism of Luzhkov is essentially directed against Prime Minister Putin, therefore, they say, if the prime minister “surrenders” the capital’s mayor, he himself will be under attack.
Finally, in Rossiyskaya Gazeta at the beginning of this week, Mr. Luzhkov directly began to criticize the president, saying that public discussion of alternative projects for the Moscow-St. Petersburg route bypassing the Khimki forest is inappropriate , and calling it “chatter.” As is known, this discussion was initiated by Dmitry Medvedev at the request of United Russia, a party whose leadership includes the capital’s mayor himself.