The most interesting thing about the election of a Ugandan-born, half-Gujarati, half-Punjabi Muslim socialist as Mayor of New York is that in the USA the inhabitants of almost 30 of the largest cities can choose their mayors, whereas in Russia, tell me, w

The most interesting thing about the election of a Ugandan-born, half-Gujarati, half-Punjabi Muslim socialist as Mayor of New York is that in the USA the inhabitants of almost 30 of the largest cities can choose their mayors, whereas in Russia, tell me, where else besides Moscow and Saint Petersburg is the head of a city chosen by direct election? The law on local self-government, which came into force in the summer of 2025, abolished direct universal elections of mayors; they are now chosen by municipal parliaments, as a rule from among candidates vetted by a competition commission