Moscow Mayor Bans Clunkers

Relentless in his campaign to beautify the Russian capital, Moscow’s mayor has ordered clunkers off the streets.

Mayor Yuri M. Luzhkov told police to stop any car “in technical disrepair or with blemishes” and confiscate the license plates, the Itar-Tass news agency said Saturday.

It said at least 120,000 clunkers cruise the busy streets of Moscow every day and quoted city officials as complaining that Muscovites are too stingy to spend money repairing their cars.

Luzhkov is famously touchy about eyesores in his city.

At various times, he has banned unsightly kiosks, told shopkeepers to install attractive lighting and window displays, and ordered signs in foreign languages removed.

Vowing to virtually rebuild Moscow by its 850th birthday next year, Luzhkov presides over perhaps the most ambitious reconstruction and beautification program in Russia.