Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, recently attacked by Russian federal TV channels over corruption charges, said during an interview with REN TV on Tuesday he was not going to resign from his post.
Luzhkov, who has been in office since 1992, is allegedly at odds with President Dmitry Medvedev. Their conflict is thought to have its roots in a September article by Luzhkov in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily that hinted at criticism of the Medvedev-Putin tandem.
On Friday, a full-fledged media campaign was launched against the mayor and his wife by several television stations.
NTV TV channel aired a documentary accusing Luzhkov and his wife Yelena Baturina of large-scale corruption. The Cap Affair documentary, its title referring to the mayor's famous black cap, said Baturina, the world's third richest woman, had used her husband's position to amass her wealth, reported by Forbes as $2.9 billion.
The 30-minute film also accused 74-year-old Luzhkov of relaxing on vacation while Moscow was choking in the acrid smog that hit the capital this summer.
Other TV channels have also aired material aimed against the mayor.
"Making excuses is not the Russian way to defend oneself. If the person starts making excuses, it means he is guilty. I reply unequivocally: It is filth and mess aimed at influencing the mayor, to engage him in something...." Luzhkov said in an interview with REN TV.
Luzhkov also said he had never given any business preferences to his wife.
"My wife is an extremely talented person. Everybody who deals with her, can confirm this...She would be even richer if she had not been the mayor's wife," Luzhkov said during the interview.
MOSCOW, September 14 (RIA Novosti)
