Ken, Comrade Mayor and the Pounds 15m London House ; On the Eve of the Russian Festival in Trafalgar Square, We Reveal That Moscow's Mayor has Bought a Magnificent Home Here and has Close Links to Ken Livingstone

Evening Standard - London › January 11, 2008

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Summary

KEN Livingstone will be the star of the show at the Russian Winter Festival celebrations in Trafalgar Square on Sunday. He is making a personal appearance and is expected to address the crowds in recognition of his role as a promoter of close ties between London and Moscow, a project he has embraced with enthusiasm.

While relations between Britain and Russia have deteriorated to the point of diplomatic hostility over the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, Ken has seized every opportunity to make important Russian friends. One, especially, has become close, his opposite number in Moscow, Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

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Ken, Comrade Mayor and the Pounds 15m London House ; On the Eve of the Russian Festival in Trafalgar Square, We Reveal That Moscow's Mayor has Bought a Magnificent Home Here and has Close Links to Ken Livingstone

At first sight there seems little to suggest a bond between the London Mayor and

Luzhkov, a 71-year-old former communist official. The Russian is a hardliner who cracked down on gay pride marches in Moscow, calling them "satanic".

This attracted wide criticism, not least from Ken, whose supporters say he has always campaigned for the rights of gays. But the Moscow Pride issue was a c...

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