20 июня 2007 Года
June 20, 2007. LUZHKOV UP FOR FIFTH TERM AS MOSCOW’S MAYOR
 The Moscow City Duma, the city’s legislative body, awaits the nomination of Mayor Yuri Luzhkov for another term as the city’s mayor.
Luzhkov has been mayor of Moscow since 1992, when he was appointed by former President Boris Yeltsin. He was subsequently re-elected as mayor by popular vote in 1996, 1999 and 2003. Following electoral reforms introduced by President Vladimir Putin in 2005, the heads of Russia’s regions (including its two cities enjoying federal status – Moscow and St. Petersburg) must be nominated by the President and approved by the local legislatures. Moscow, with a population of over 10 million, is today Russia’s largest city, with an annual budget of over 700 billion rubles (approximately 27 billion U.S. dollars).
During a visit to the Kurkino region of Moscow with Yuri Luzhkov in early June, President Putin suggested that the mayor, whose term ends in December of this year, consider leaving his post only after a number of the city’s critical problems have been solved. Of particular importance is the question of fraudulent real estate investment schemes, which have robbed a number of Muscovites of their savings.
“Along with successes the current city administration has also dealt with a number of failures, especially in regards to real estate schemes. I hope that this question will continue to receive attention in the near future, along with a number of other problems within the city that must be solved as quickly as possible,” stated the President in early June.
Andrei Metelsky, the head of the United Russia fraction within the Moscow City Duma, commented that, according to the body’s procedural code, a week must pass after the introduction of a new bill before it can be considered by the City Duma. He added that “there can be no question that Lukhkov’s candidacy will be approved.”
United Russia controls 28 of the 35 seats in the Moscow City Duma.
Translated by Artem V. Zagorodnov
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