VZCZCXRO8643
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #2046/01 2221141
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101141Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4482
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002046 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR KDEM KCOR RS
SUBJECT: MOSCOW'S LEVELS - AND LEVERS - OF POWER 
 
REF: MOSCOW 1743 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary:  The Moscow City government is unique to 
Russia in that Moscow's Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov exercises near 
complete control over all aspects of official life, including 
directly instructing many of the 1000 officials under him, 
and, by the accounts of some observers, taking the law into 
his own hands.  End Summary. 
 
Background on Moscow City 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Moscow operates in different capacities:  as a 
federal city and subject of the Russian Federation, the 
center of the Moscow Region, the capital of Russia, and as a 
megalopolis, as Europe's largest city.  The city of Moscow 
has an official population of 11.5 million.  It is part of 
the greater Moscow Region, which stretches 200-300 km from 
the city of Moscow in all directions, and has an additional 
14 million inhabitants.  Given the enormous territory and the 
large population, Moscow is larger than some countries. 
Russia's main economic and political actors and apparati are 
concentrated within the city of Moscow. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  There are three branches of power in Moscow City. 
The Moscow City government, or City Hall, is the highest 
executive authority.  The Moscow City Duma is the legislative 
branch.  Moscow's local court system is the city's judicial 
branch.  The three branches mirror the federal structure, and 
the city and federal laws are, at least in theory, in sync. 
 
 
The Moscow City Duma - Elections and the City Budget 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  The Moscow City Duma is responsible for enacting 
Moscow's laws, approving Moscow's General Development Plan, 
and establishing working procedures for the Administrative 
Regions and Districts.  There are 35 Deputies in the Moscow 
City Duma, including its Chairman, Vladimir Platonov.  The 
Moscow City Duma is divided into a number of working groups 
and committees.  It has the power to vote on the performance 
of the city government and can pass motions of no confidence 
in relation to the city government or particular individuals, 
including the mayor. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  The Moscow City Duma's central legal tasks are to 
conduct elections and to pass the city's budget.  The next 
elections will take place on October 11, 2009 (reftel).  The 
Moscow City Duma's most important annual legislation concerns 
the budget, which it typically reviews in the fall.  However, 
Acting Head of the Moscow City Government's Department for 
External Economic and International Relations Vadim Danilin 
told us July 23 that, due to the economic crisis, this year 
the Moscow Duma will not begin to look at the 2010 budget 
until November 2009.  According to Danilin, the Moscow City 
budget is currently the second largest city budget in the 
world, after Tokyo, just ahead of New York City. 
 
The Moscow City Government 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU)  There are three levels of power within the 
executive branch of Moscow's city government.  The highest 
ranking official in the Moscow City Government is the mayor, 
the senior, and in many cases, the main decisionmaker.  While 
the official mayoral term is four years, Luzhkov has been 
Mayor since 1992, having been re-elected in 1996, 1999, and 
2003 under Putin.  (Note:  Direct election of heads of 
federal regions was abolished under Putin; the President now 
appoints those leaders subject to local legislative 
concurrence.)  In 2007, Putin submitted Luzhkov's candidature 
for approval as mayor to the Moscow City Duma.  Danilin 
characterized Luzhkov as "mayor for life" and said that he 
has no knowledge of any plans for Luzhkov to leave his 
position.  According to a July 2-13 Levada Center public 
opinion poll among 800 Muscovites, 56 percent of the 
respondents preferred to have Luzhkov remain mayor of Moscow 
after the October elections.  The Mayor appoints 25 senior 
officials of the Moscow City government, including First 
Deputy Mayors, each responsible for substantial spheres of 
activity; Deputy Mayors; and Ministers.  The Executive Office 
of the Moscow City Government comprises various departments, 
committees, and directorates which undertake various 
projects. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  One level below, at the Administrative Region 
level, is the city-wide power.  There are ten administrative 
regions in Moscow City:  Central, North-Western, Northern, 
 
MOSCOW 00002046  002 OF 002 
 
 
North-Eastern, Eastern, South-Eastern, Southern, 
South-Western, Western, and the City of Zelenograd, which is 
not physically linked to the rest of Moscow City. 
Zelenograd, "Green City," was created as a science center, 
and has one of the highest concentrations of educated 
residents in the world.  Each of the ten regions is headed by 
a prefect.  The third level of authority is within the 125 
districts in Moscow.  These Districts formally have the 
status of municipalities and their own local governments. 
The voters directly elect a government leader in each of 
these districts. 
 
¶8. (SBU)  The Moscow City Government also has its own 
international department.  Mr. Georgiy Muradov is the chief 
of the Moscow City Government Department for External 
Economic and International Relations, and Danilin is his 
deputy.  This department has five sections focused each on 
Moscow's relations with:  the Commonwealth of Independent 
States (CIS), Africa, the Russian diaspora, the Americas, and 
Europe/Asia.  The Moscow City Government has 160 partners 
around the globe; it is most active in Europe and least 
active in Africa.  In North America, Moscow is linked to 
Chicago, Houston, New York City, Washington, DC, and the 
state of Ohio through various joint projects. 
 
A Critic's View 
--------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU)  While the above outline is the official story, 
Boris Kosarev, who runs the political website 
www.pismo-vlasti.ru, told us earlier this year that the 
Moscow City Government functions like a hierarchy.  In his 
view, Luzhkov is the absolute center of power and he has 
encircled himself with his own loyal staff.  According to 
Kosarev, "the longer someone is in one position in Moscow, 
the stronger that leader becomes."  He told us that oligarchs 
often buy a place in the Moscow City Government, but that 
they also require Luzhkov's blessing.  Kosarev said, "Nobody 
can become a Moscow City Government or Duma deputy without 
Luzhkov's help."  He maintained that Luzhkov rigs the 
elections, but allows a few opposition figures, such as 
Yabloko's Sergei Mitrokhin, to be in the Moscow City Duma. 
In terms of the Communists, Kosarev told us that Gennadiy 
Zyuganov and Luzhkov had also made an agreement for Sergey 
Nikitin to be in the Moscow City Duma.  Kosarev explained 
that Vladimir Resin, the Minister for the Moscow City 
town-planning policy and development complex, is himself an 
oligarch and oversees all of the construction companies in 
Moscow.  Kosarev contended that even though Resin is old and 
sick, he still manages to work and would need Luzhkov's 
permission to leave his current position. 
 
¶10. (SBU)  Kosarev told us that laws and elections do not 
work in Moscow.  In his view, the Russian system became 
westernized and imported its laws, but "the Russian 
government operates above the law."  He cited mass 
falsification during voting on the Moscow City Government 
level and told us that the general government sentiment was 
akin to Stalin's attitude that, "it does not matter how 
people vote, but it matters who counts the votes."  According 
to Kosarev, the general government sentiment is that it is 
not important what happens, but it matters that the 
government controls it. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (SBU)  In the view of some Moscow observers, until city 
officials begin making more transparent use of their 
government structure and laws, effective citizen oversight 
and participation in local government will not take root. 
Instead, these officials will maintain their ability to 
manipulate average Muscovites, such as through elections that 
are not free and fair, using tax money for their own devices, 
and extracting bribes from the citizens for performing their 
jobs.  Instead of the government focusing on the requirements 
of its citizens, critics argue that it is only the wealthy 
elite who thrive in Moscow at the expense of average 
Muscovites. 
RUBIN