The former mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov has been hospitalized in serious condition after falling ill at a business meeting.
The Russian capital's current mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, confirmed media reports on December 23 of Luzhkov's condition and said in a post on Twitter that he hoped "everything will end favorably."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="ru" dir="ltr">С первых минут сообщения о госпитализации Юрия Михайловича Лужкова держим ситуацию на контроле. Надеюсь, все закончится благополучно</p>— Сергей Собянин (@MosSobyanin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MosSobyanin/status/812292042919387136">December 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Luzhkov was taken to the hospital after he felt unwell during a business meeting at Moscow State University, rector Viktor Sadovnichy was quoted as saying.
Deputy Mayor Leonid Pechatnikov said later that Luzhkov's current state of health was satisfactory.
During his nearly two-decade tenure, Luzhkov ran the city like a small fiefdom.
He oversaw an explosion of building and investment in the Russian city, helping transform its drab Soviet skyline into one dotted with glittering glass-and-steel skyscrapers, shopping malls, and other structures.
The influx of building and investment helped drive Moscow real estate prices to extreme highs, and also contributed to massive traffic problems that continue to choke the city's highways.
He was dismissed in 2010 by then President Dmitry Medvedev for what Medvedev said was "loss of trust."
Luzhkov was long dogged by allegations of massive corruption and kickbacks. His wife, Yelena Baturina, is one of Russia's wealthiest women.
With reporting by RIA, TASS, and Interfax
