Yuri Luzhkov, Tsarmaker

Gleb Cherkassov has a fascinating article in Mosnews about the importance of the mayors of capital cities during revolutions. 

After observing that the Orange Revolution in Ukraine may never have happened without the support of Kiev’s mayor they go on to argue that, if Putin wants to keep his job, he really needs to keep Yuri Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow, on his side.

Revolutions are born in capitals, the Kremlin knows that and that is why it will never venture on any experiment that is likely to incite Muscovites against the authorities.

On the whole the situation is quite extraordinary for the Kremlin. The presidential administration is not only forced to maintain a dialogue inside the country, very soon it will also have to take part in a democratic political procedure — the elections to the Moscow city Duma, scheduled for December of this year.

The poll is no formality. Elections to the Moscow legislature have never been a mere pseudo-democratic ceremony, even in Luzhkov’s heyday. Today, however, the stakes are much higher, which makes the city campaign not just interesting but downright exciting.

Its outcome will either enable the Kremlin to set up a strong opposition to the mayor — this, however, requires winning the elections, or to lay the foundation for the transfer of power — which requires including dutiful people in the party lists of candidates.

So, if you’re hoping for yet another Russian revolution, keep a close eye out for this December’s results. They’ll give you a strong pointer to the future direction of Russian Presidential politics. 

Tagged as: Domestic Politics