Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, whose possible dismissal has lately been in the center of Russian media attention, has received a timeout to figure out his next moves, political analysts have commented on the situation.
The mayor is on an agreed vacation in Austria and will return at the designated time to continue his work, spokesman for Luzhkov, Sergei Tsoi, said earlier.
The mayor's vacation has shown that that the situation with his possible dismissal is unlikely to be resolved soon, Alexei Makarkin, First Vice President of the Center for Political Technologies told Ekho Moskvy radio station. "This is a cooling-off period for all the persons, involved in this story," he said.
Luzhkov's vacation will allow him to avoid an information and political war, which he is incapable to win, Gleb Pavlovsky, President of the Foundation for Effective Politics, said. The mayor's vacation will reduce tensions in Moscow, Pavlovsky added.
Earlier, leader of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky presumed that Luzhkov, who had taken a brief leave and left for abroad, might not return to Russia.
Zhirinovsky said he is eager to become the new mayor of the Russian capital.
RIA Novosti
