MOSCOW ' S OUSTED MAYOR LEAVES A MIXED LEGACY
Yuri M. Luzhkov
This capital city was on the brink of collapse when Yuri M. Luzhkov became mayor in 1992  with food shortages  trash-strewn streets and rampant crime. Cigarettes  one of the few luxuries available to the masses in the Soviet era  were in such short supply that Muscovites blockaded the city's main thoroughfares in protest.
 Eighteen years later  as Luzhkov steps down after being fired Tuesday by Russia's president  Dmitry A. Medvedev  he is leaving behind a humming metropolis of skyscrapers  luxury boutiques and traffic jams. Opponents also describe a legacy of corruption and nepotism that has left the mayor and his circle exceedingly rich -- and  possibly  disgraced.
 Not a word has been heard yet from Luzhkov  whose motorcade sped out of city hall shortly after the news was delivered. Even after a blistering smear campaign in the Kremlin-controlled media in recent weeks  Luzhkov had been defiant  vowing as late as Monday to hang on to power. It was clear he was not yet ready to speak of his legacy.
 But those who have followed the long arc of the mayor's career  and who took stock of his tenure Tuesday  spoke of two Luzhkovs.
 They described the mayor of recent years  who ran Moscow like a personal fief  crushing opponents while surrounding himself with a small team of allies who enriched themselves through their control of the city's main avenues of commerce. Under his leadership  his wife  Yelena Baturina  a billionaire real estate developer responsible for many of the new high-rise buildings in Moscow  became Russia's richest woman.
 But those who knew Luzhkov from his earliest days as mayor also recall a tireless crisis manager  who largely through the blunt force of his will pulled this city through the chaos of the Soviet collapse.
 "Frankly speaking  he simply saved Moscow in 1992-93 when there was a total deficit of everything " said Sergei B. Stankevich  a political analyst who worked with Luzhkov in the city government in those early years.
 simply saved Moscow in 1992-93 when there was a total deficit of everything " said Sergei B. Stankevich  a political analyst who worked with Luzhkov in the city government in those early years.
 "Unfortunately  the late Luzhkov was another man " he said. "But the early Luzhkov is still my friend."
This capital city was on the brink of collapse when [TGT] became mayor in 1992  with food shortages  trash-strewn streets and rampant crime. Cigarettes  one of the few luxuries available to the masses in the Soviet era  were in such short supply that Muscovites blockaded the city's main thoroughfares in protest.
 Eighteen years later  as [TGT] steps down after being fired Tuesday by Russia's president  Dmitry A. Medvedev  he is leaving behind a humming metropolis of skyscrapers  luxury boutiques and traffic jams. Opponents also describe a legacy of corruption and nepotism that has left the mayor and his circle exceedingly rich -- and  possibly  disgraced.
 Not a word has been heard yet from [TGT]whose motorcade sped out of city hall shortly after the news was delivered. Even after a blistering smear campaign in the Kremlin-controlled media in recent weeks  [TGT] had been defiant  vowing as late as Monday to hang on to power. It was clear [TGT] was not yet ready to speak of [TGT] legacy.
 But those who have followed the long arc of the mayor's career  and who took stock of [TGT] tenure Tuesday  spoke of two Luzhkovs.
 They described the mayor of recent years  who ran Moscow like a personal fief  crushing opponents while surrounding himself with a small team of allies who enriched themselves through their control of the city's main avenues of commerce. Under his leadership  his wife  Yelena Baturina  a billionaire real estate developer responsible for many of the new high-rise buildings in Moscow  became Russia's richest woman.
 But those who knew [TGT] from [TGT] earliest days as mayor also recall a tireless crisis manager  who largely through the blunt force of [TGT] will pulled this city through the chaos of the Soviet collapse.
 "Frankly speaking  [TGT] simply saved Moscow in 1992-93 when there was a total deficit of everything " said Sergei B. Stankevich  a political analyst who worked with [TGT] in the city government in those early years.
 simply saved Moscow in 1992-93 when there was a total deficit of everything " said Sergei B. Stankevich  a political analyst who worked with [TGT] in the city government in those early years.
 "Unfortunately  the late [TGT] was another man " [TGT] said. "But the early [TGT] is still my friend."