MOSCOW — Yuri M. Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow who was once one of Russia’s most powerful politicians, dismissed his country’s political system as a charade in an interview published on Monday, comparing Russia to an outsize Byzantium beholden to the whims of the Kremlin.

In his first extensive remarks in nearly a year, Mr. Luzhkov, who was ousted as mayor a year ago, told the Interfax news agency that the Kremlin had neutered all political activity in the country. He criticized what he described as a corrupt business climate, and expressed fears that his billionaire wife could be prosecuted if she returned to Russia from Western Europe, where she lives.

“Our country is now going through dark times,” he said. “We see a lack of political activity and the complete domination of the government over all institutions, including political ones.”

Mr. Luzhkov said that all of Russia’s mainstream political parties were puppets, and that only the Communist Party had tried to resist Kremlin interference, unsuccessfully. He singled out United Russia, the party led by Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, for special scorn.