Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President Dmitry Medvedev fired long-serving Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, opening the way for the Russian leader to put his own man in charge of a city that accounts for almost a quarter of the national economy. Medvedev âlost confidenceâ in Luzhkov, Natalya Timakova, the presidentâs spokeswoman, told reporters in Shanghai today. âNow heâs just a citizen.â Medvedev named Luzhkovâs deputy Vladimir Resin as acting mayor. The departure of Luzhkov after more than 18 years in city hall comes as Russia prepares for next yearâs parliamentary elections followed in 2012 by a presidential contest that may see Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seeking to return to the Kremlin at the expense of his protégé Medvedev. Luzhkov, a co-founder of the United Russia party that dominates parliament and is headed by Putin, resisted mounting pressure to resign in the weeks leading up to his firing. National television channels controlled by the Kremlin aired increasingly critical programs of Luzhkov, accusing him of corruption and favoritism toward his billionaire wife, Yelena Baturina. Sergei Tsoi, a spokesman for Luzhkov, couldnât be reached immediately for comment. The couple denied wrongdoing. http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNR329YOotpQ&pos=9 You have to love the "Russian way". Did you ever see Putin slapping Oleg Deripaska - one of the most powerful "oligarchs" in Russia. Watch the video !=> <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UMlsbB33QSc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UMlsbB33QSc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>