2011-2012 protests.<sup>3</sup> The goal of improving city amenities remained at the heart of Sobyanin’s electoral strategy in the following years.

Transport infrastructure became one of the centerpieces of the urban renewal in Moscow. Over the last decade, the Moscow government has made massive investments into transport infrastructure development in the city, including building new roads and fast-speed highways as well as developing public transit and the Moscow metro system (Liskutov 2018). 1.4 trillion rubles, or 67% of Moscow’s Targeted Investment Program for 2020-2022, is planned for the development of the city’s transport system.<sup>4</sup> Such massive resources invested in developing transportation and roads in Moscow are not accidental. The issue carries not only economic but also political significance. The quality of roads and the transportation system's effectiveness is a policy domain in the life of a big city that is of high salience for the millions of daily commuters in the city.<sup>5</sup> It directly affects the quality of life in the city and could potentially be a source of frustration and discontent – a ‘sore’ point that reminds daily (and often many times throughout the day) about the ineffective and corrupt government. Mikhail Blinkin, director of the HSE Institute for Transport Economics and Transport Policy Studies and one of the most notable Russian transportation systems experts, also highlights the political rationale guiding the development of transport infrastructure in Russian cities: _The centerpiece of a typical urban agenda related to the transportation problems has to do with private car ownership and include characteristic issues such as “struggle against traffic jams,” “parking lots,” and, most importantly, “multilevel interchanges.” These days, multilevel interchanges occupy a remarkable position in the collective unconscious of Russian car owners and local politicians. Promises to build new interchanges often seem to be in the very heart of election programs at municipal elections_ (Blinkin and Koncheva 2016, p.280).

Blinkin also notes that the most important item on this agenda is road maintenance: _The long-term shortage of funds for maintenance and repair of road network, usual for the majority of Russian cities, leads not only to the destruction of pavement but also to the degradation of structural layers of a road-way, down to the sub-base. Accordingly, holes and potholes on roads and streets become a political rather than merely transport-related issue_ (Blinkin and Koncheva 2016, p.280).

The issue of road quality and maintenance was politicized in Moscow since 2010 when Alexey Navalny’s (Russia’s only notable opposition leader) _Foundation Against Corruption_ developed an

> 3 <u>https://www.vedomosti.ru/opinion/columns/2019/09/05/810614-urbanizm-</u>

> <u>mertv?utm_campaign=newspaper_6_9_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_source=vedomosti</u> [last accessed: September 2020]

> 4 <u>https://investmoscow.ru/about-moscow/moscow-city-targeted-investment-program/ [last accessed: September 2020].</u> 5 The government of the City of Moscow estimates that in 2019 there were around 7.7 million of registered cars, of - - - which 3.2-3.6 million car owners are daily commuters. See https://rg.ru/2019/04/18/reg <u>cfo/eksperty podschitali kolichestvo-avtomobilej-v-moskve.html [last accessed: September 2020].</u>

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