In a forum held to catalog the city government's achievements in 1994, the mayor touched on several other topics, condemning President Boris Yeltsin's military strategy in Chechnya and defending his pet project, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. He also announced that Yeltsin will pass a special decree on privatization in Moscow, legitimizing the mayor's long-standing diversions from the national privatization program.
Luzhkov also defended his associations with city banks. He decried the Dec. 3 attack by gunmen, later identified as members of Yeltsin's bodyguard, on the headquarters of MOST-Bank, which handles many of the city's finances. The mayor responded to allegations about a corrupt union between the city government and MOST-Bank, saying that the city has an obligation to support its financial infrastructure.
"I consider that the government would be making a big mistake if it refused to cooperate with banks and small businesses," Luzhkov said. "We would be shutting out the system that we ourselves established."
Luzhkov also said that Yeltsin will soon pass a decree written by the mayor's office on privatization in Moscow.
As it stands, Moscow's privatization plan yields far more to the local government than the limits fixed by the State Property Committee. In 1994, the Moscow government profited 1.5 trillion rubles ($385 million) from the sell-off of government property, whereas the federal government earned only 1 trillion rubles from privatization, Luzhkov said. The new plan was drafted by Epicenter experts, led by the head of the State Duma's Yabloko faction, Grigory Yavlinsky.
The bulk of Luzhkov's message was devoted to his achievements over the past year, particularly in the areas of housing construction and subsidies for the poor. In 1994, the city completed 3 million square meters of living space, 22 schools, 30 pre-schools and 12 clinics. Luzhkov vowed to continue these projects and start a new metro line.
After the conference, Luzhkov spoke out strongly against the military actions in Chechnya.
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