Who’ll take in Yuri Luzhkov?

After his unceremonious firing by the Kremlin, former Moscow mayor and power broker Yuri Luzhkov is having a hard time finding a place to settle. The Moscow Times reports:

Austria will not grant former Mayor Yury Luzhkov a residency permit because the country’s government does not want to jeopardize relations with the Kremlin by favoring a fallen official, a news report said Thursday. […]

Luzhkov has made Austrian resort Kitzbühel his favorite destination in recent years, and Baturina, who owns a chalet and a luxury hotel there, has reportedly moved much of the foreign operations of her real estate company Inteko to Vienna. Both are expected to attend the traditional Hahnenkamm world cup ski race this weekend, an annual magnet for the world’s rich and famous.

Earlier this week, Latvia slapped an entry ban on Luzhkov after he applied for a residency permit in late December. The Interior Ministry in Riga linked the decision to Luzhkov’s regular verbal attacks on Latvia while he governed Moscow.

Luzhkov has said he would try to get a residency permit in a European country in order to be able to move freely within the Schengen border-free zone of 25 states.

Luzhkov’s fondness for vacationing in Austria played a role in his downfall. He was heavily criticized for refusing to cut short a trip there last summer while Moscow was choked with toxic smog from nearby forest fires. 

Luzhkov has also had to give up his official residence in Moscow and his dacha in a luxurious suburb outside the city. The former mayor is reportedly considering Bulgaria and Britain — home to more than a few well-heeled Putin-era exiles — as destinations.