Moscow does not need politician for mayor: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said Moscow did not need a politician for a mayor, as his fierce critic Alexei Navalny faced off against a Kremlin incumbent in hotly-contested mayoral polls. 

Putin has made no secret of his support for his former Kremlin chief of staff and current mayor Sergei Sobyanin, one of Navalny's rivals in the race. 

‘Such big cities do not so much need to be run by politicians,’ Putin said after casting his vote in Moscow, in an apparent dig at anti-Kremlin protest leader Navalny. 

‘There is a need for business-like, concrete, I would even say depoliticized people, technocrats who know how to work, know what to do and how to do it and take responsibility,’ Putin said. 

In comments released by the Kremlin, Putin said he was ‘certain’ his candidate would win. 

The Russian leader is scheduled to attend the mayoral inauguration this week, according to a Kremlin source. 

Ahead of the poll Putin profusely praised the current mayor in a television interview.  ‘He speaks less and does more. I love such people.’ During the campaign, Sobyanin, a 55-year-old trusted insider, avoided any overt political rhetoric, focusing instead on sprucing up the city of 12 million. 

According to opinion polls, Sobyanin is set to win the election in the first round, while main opposition candidate and anti-corruption campaigner Navalny is expected to gain around 20 percent of the vote.