by Nina Achmatova

For weeks the mayor Luzkhov and his wealthy wife are the subject of an public campaign that highlights their personal interests and mismanagement of the Russian capital. Behind TV campaign, the hand of the government that wants to get rid of the long time first citizen, the undisputed master of Moscow for over 18 years. The possible successors.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The army of Russians ex-kingpins ousted from the Kremlin and forced into exile in Europe could soon count among its new recruits, the mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov and his wife, the oligarch Elena Baturina. The powerful governor of the capital is now at loggerheads with President Dmitri Medvedev and his "resignation" seems imminent. This has been confirmed by a hard hitting press campaign to discredit him organized and carried out on state television NTV. According to foreign media, the richest couple in the country has already prepared for their golden exile in Austria and England, and possible candidates to the mayor's chair have begun to circulate.

The sins of the richest couple in Moscow

In the eyes of the Kremlin, the Luzhkovs wield too much power in an area of such strategic importance as the capital. During the nearly two decade reign of her husband, Baturina has risen from being a simple clerk to the city’s ' brick oligarch. " With a net worth of 2.9 billion U.S. dollars, the business magazine Forbes says she is the third richest woman in the world and has no competitors at home. It is no coincidence that in the last 10 years the real estate market in Moscow has become an inextricable mix of speculation and corruption, which is dominated by a class of unscrupulous real estate magnates. According to activists for the protection of historical heritage the local government is complicit in this, with up to 80% of construction projects involving real estate development company Inteko, which belongs to the mayor's wife, in fact.

In fact it is this charge of putting personal interest ahead of the common good that the Kremlin has made against Luzhkov. Last week a heavy advertising campaign aimed at discrediting the image of the first citizen and his powerful wife started. The channel NTV, under the control of the Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, which has always been close to Medvedev, broadcast a series of reports on the privileges of the couple, who immediately began a libal action against the broadcaster. The general manager of the network, Vladimir Kulistikov, said he is ready to prove the truth of the facts and push ahead in what is now an "open war". Luzkhov has been battling demands of his resignation for months: the Russian President has not forgiven the mayor for his chaotic management of the fire and smog emergency, that devastated the capital this summer or for having challenged his decision to suspend the Moscow-Saint Petersburg highway project, after massive protests.

Luzhkov exploits power struggle between Medvedev and Putin

But beyond the official political reasons, the disappearance of Luzkhov according to some analysts, should be tied to the underlying power struggle between Medvedev and Putin, in view of the 2012presidential election. Putin, a fellow party member of  Luzhkov’s in "United Russia", may decide to defend not accept any resignation and thus open a confrontation with the president. But this would be a drastic solution that currently does not really benefit anyone. The Luzkhovs have taken a vacation and there are many who believe that they will not return home. According to the Financial Times, the couple are seeking refuge in London, where Baturina is already the owner of the second largest residence in the British capital after Buckingham Palace, the Witanhurst, estimated at 100 million pounds. Illustrious fellow countrymen like billionaires Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea, and Boris Berezovsky, the most powerful of Yeltsin-era oligarchs already reside in the English city. Precisely because of the strong presence of Russian expatriates, the British capital has been nick named Londograd.

However, if the couple chooses to disappear altogether from the scene, according to the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, they could choose to retire to Kitzbuhel in Tyrol, where Baturina has already made investments.

Thus speculation has begun on the succession to the post of Mayor of Moscow, which is appointed by the Kremlin. The Russian newspaper Vedomosti reveals a list of three eligible candidates: Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin, Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoygu, former governor of Kaliningrad Georgij Boos.

• Russia
• Moscow
• mayor
• Putin
• Medvedev
• Luzkhovs
• corruption
• oligarchs
• exile
• politics