Russian President Dmitry Medvedev blamed former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov for presiding over massive corruption and negligence of his duties which led to the ignominious end of his political career, in a TV interview on Friday.
Medvedev fired Luzhkov, who had been in office since 1992, this fall over "loss of confidence." The sacking was preceded by a smear campaign by state-run TV channels, which slammed Luzhkov for remaining on vacation while Moscow was choked by acrid smog in August, and for failing to tackle the city's most pressing problems.
"This city [Moscow] has a slew of problems. Corruption - on an unprecedented scales even for a city with over 10 million residents," Medvedev said in the interview broadcast live on Russia's three main TV channels on Friday.
The president criticized Luzhkov over his predilection for publicity stunts aimed at boosting his public image instead of real efforts to improve the situation in Moscow.
Sergei Sobyanin was approved Moscow's new mayor soon after Luzhkov's sacking, and immediately pledged to tackle the city's most difficult problems.
"I hope that the new mayor will work differently. He is a man of deed, a hard-working man, free of stardom; he does not strive for personal media popularity or political rivalry," Medvedev said.
MOSCOW, December 24 (RIA Novosti)
