A session of the Moscow city government was held without the former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, dismissed by the president due to lack of confidence. He was replaced by the incumbent mayor, Vladimir Resin. Luzhkov said that he will hold a press conference to comment on the issue.
The editor-in-chief of Vestnik Kavkaza, Alexey Vlasov, said that there may be 3 scenarios in the mayor's dismissal. Firstly, there may be an intermediate figure appointed to replace Luzhkov, a strong executive manager, possibly a member of the Moscow government or a prefect. It may be a compromise decision until 2012.
Another version is that there may be a direct appointee by the most trusted people of Medvedev.
The third scenario is that the Russian government may take control of the mayor's office and the mayor will be appointed by Premier Vladimir Putin.
Luzhkov's dismissal may demonstrate that there is no conflict between Putin and Medvedev, Alexey Vlasov believes. His dismissal may be a PR manoeuvre, to improve the ratings of the president and premier and confirm stability. There was no better format to demonstrate unity.
