Luzhkov gets $100, 000 severance package - paper

MOSCOW. October 22. KAZINFORM Former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov has received a three million ruble ($100, 000) severance package following his dismissal three weeks ago, a Russian tabloid reported on Friday, citing a source in the city administration; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

Luzhkov, 74, who served as Moscow mayor for 18 years, was sacked by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on September 28, after a series of disputes with the Russian leadership that escalated into a vicious smear campaign against him by the state-run media.

Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper recently unveiled that Luzhkov had been receiving a monthly salary of around $10,000 when he left the mayoral post, although his 2009 registered annual income was $260,000.

Soon after his dismissal Luzhkov took a job as dean of the large cities management department at the Russian State University of Trade and Economy with the token salary of 1 ruble-a-month.

On October 21, former chief of staff to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Sergei Sobyanin, was sworn in as the new Moscow mayor; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.

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