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Articles by Bela Lyauv

Q&A: Yury Luzhkov Says He's a Completely Free Man

Immediately after Yury Luzhkov was dismissed from office, his friend and predecessor Gavriil Popov asked him to be dean of the International University...

Strategic Thinking Means Saying 'No'

Andrei Sharonov is a city government official with a business background. Now, as deputy mayor for economic policy, one of his main tasks is to improve...

City to Pay $1.4Bln for Luzhniki Makeover

City Hall plans to turn Luzhniki into a cultural center as well as a sports complex, with reconstruction in the run-up to the 2018 football World...

Moscow Expansion Focuses On Western Part of Region

Land plots on Moscow's west side are leading candidates for facilitating its growth: Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Moscow region Governor Boris Gromov plan...

$1.2Bln to Be Spent on City Roads

City Hall will allocate 84 percent of 39.5 billion rubles ($1.4 billion) of not yet dispersed funds to road construction. The money will be used to build...

Luzhniki Complex Sold to City Hall for a Song

Vladimir Alyoshin, the main owner of the Luzhniki Olympic complex, is selling his stake in the company to the city of Moscow for 10 million euros...

City Committee to Drive Affordable Housing Plan

A Moscow City Hall committee has been created to provide housing at 50,000 to 60,000 rubles ($1,700 to $2,000) per square meter to people on the...

Bus Lanes Planned to Ease Traffic Jams

Moscow officials have compiled a list of streets that will feature bus lanes. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has many times said the traffic jam problem needs...

Sobyanin Building Freeze Raises Housing Prices

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has forbidden new construction in downtown Moscow. The mayor's announcement has already impacted the market. Investors are returning...

Abramovich to Invest in Gorky Park, Recreation

Billionaire Roman Abramovich plans to build an amusement park near Skolkovo and restore the downtown Gorky Park. He volunteered to develop Gorky Park...

City Housing Construction Hits Record Low

Last year, a record low amount of housing construction took place in Moscow, even less than there was in the early 1990s. Government figures indicated...

City Hall Cancels High-Rise Projects

A decision was made at the last session of the City’s building commission to terminate eight construction projects, a source in the mayor's office told...

Baturina, Anisimov Talks Die Quickly

Inteko president Yelena Baturina on Saturday discussed the sale of assets to Vasily Anisimov's real estate holding Coalco, but the meeting was brief because...

Moscow to Start Asset Sales With 78 Stakes

City Hall will begin the large-scale asset sale promised by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin with stakes in companies where Moscow is not the controlling shareholder...

Tax Cases Targeting Chigirinsky Closed

Real estate developer Shalva Chigirinsky may return to Russia now that criminal investigations targeting him for tax evasion have been closed, Vedomosti...

Chaika Goes After Baturina Land

Moscow prosecutors are pushing City Hall to cancel an order that allowed Yelena Baturina's Inteko to acquire 55 hectares of land. Prosecutor General Yury...

High-Rise to Lose Builders' Penthouses

Dom na Mosfilmovskoi's large penthouses, intended for the co-owners of Don-Stroi, will be demolished, in line with orders from city authorities to reduce...