Ex-mayor leaves United Russia

Ex-Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov addressed the Supreme Political Council of the United Russia party with a letter in which he announces his withdrawal from it, Interfax quotes a source in the capital's mayor's office.

"Recently, as a member of the bureau of the party's supreme council, I have been subjected to a fierce attack by state media," the text of the letter says, the source said.

"These attacks were related to the task of removing the mayor of Moscow from the political arena, depriving him of his powers ahead of schedule. For more than a month, I was subjected to wild harassment, which by its nature goes beyond the bounds of decency and common sense," Luzhkov said in a letter.