Local mayor was closely associated with Putin
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has fired his longtime political nemesis, Moscow major Yuri Luzhkov. One of the last of the Yeltsin guard, Luzhkov has ruled Moscow since 1992 and is closely associated with Russian PM Vladimir Putin. Medvedev seized his opportunity after Lezhkov publicly criticized a decision of his. Following a highly publicized dispute, Medvedev announced from China that he was dismissing the mayor. Boris N. Nemtsov, a member of Russia’s democratic opposition, told the Washington Post the decision to can Luzhkov “means that Medvedev has a chance to be a real president.”