Former Mayor Yury Luzhkov won a defamation lawsuit against two tabloids that reported he has real estate in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, including a dacha once owned by Stalin, Interfax said Monday.
Lifenews.ru and its sister publication, the daily Tvoi Den, said in March that Luzhkov had assets in Abkhazia obtained through abuse of office. Luzhkov denied owning any assets in Abkhazia and sued the owner of both tabloids, News Media, seeking to have the reports retracted and demanding 400,000 rubles ($14,000) in damages. On Monday, a Moscow district court granted his claim while slashing the sum to 20,800 rubles.
A News Media spokeswoman said the company disagrees with the ruling but is undecided on whether to appeal.
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