Moscow (AsiaNews) - Representatives of the Russian Orthodox community would like to thank the former Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov for helping the Church in his 18 years of government as mayor of the capital. Luzhkov was fired yesterday by President Dmitri Medvedev after a heavy press campaign against him and his wife, Yelena Baturina a real estate oligarch, accused of having enriched themselves at their citizens’ expense. Allegations well known to Muscovites, but which for the first were laid bare on state media.
In a statement, representatives of the "Corporation of Orthodox action" writes: "No matter what they say, we are grateful to Yury Mikhailovich for having restored the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, that of Our Lady of Kazan, the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and other places: now everything has been cleaned and renovated”.
Under the Mayor’s administration some of the churches and estates confiscated by the Soviet authorities were returned to the Orthodox Church.
At the same time the faithful recall the need to develop existing projects for the construction of new churches in the new districts of Moscow. The signatories of the document hope that the new mayor will not forget these initiatives: "We need a mayor who clearly understands that Moscow is the Third Rome. "
The release also highlights expectations that the new administration will introduce courses in Orthodox culture in Moscow schools.
Until the appointment of a replacement, the post of mayor of Moscow will governed by an interim, Luzhkov’s deputy, Vladimir Risin.
