Gavriil Kharitonovich Popov

Who is Gavriil Kharitonovich Popov?

Gavriil Kharitonovich Popov is a Russian politician and economist. He served as the mayor of Moscow from 1990 until he resigned in 1992.

Popov graduated Moscow Lomonosov University in political economy. He joined the Soviet Communist Party in 1959 and served as a secretary of the Komsomol committee of his university. Popov remained at the faculty of economics as a graduate student, then docent, and since 1978 he became dean of the faculty. Yegor Gaidar, who would become Prime Minister of Russia, was one of his students.

During Perestroika Popov became heavily involved in politics. He quit the CPSU in 1990 becoming a staunch proponent of democratization. On April 20, 1990, he became the first democratically elected mayor of Moscow. He resigned in 1992 and was replaced by the vice-mayor, Yury Luzhkov.

After 1992, Popov returned to the academia. He is now president of the International University in Moscow.