MOSCOW — Yuri M. Luzhkov, who as the city’s longtime mayor led the transformation of Moscow from a gloomy, trash-strewn post-Soviet capital into a gleaming modern metropolis, but who was dogged by allegations that he had helped enrich his wife’s construction company, died on Tuesday in Munich. He was 83.

Mr. Luzhkov died in a hospital, the Russian Embassy in Berlin said in a statement. No cause was given, but he was said to have been hospitalized for heart surgery.

Mr. Luzhkov, who served as mayor from 1992 to 2010, controlled much of the city as if it were his personal fief. But after inheriting the economic crisis that had swept over Russia after the collapse of the Soviet planned economy in 1991, he was credited with quickly turning the tide. At a time when many Russians were suffering from food shortages, Muscovites saw new shopping malls and office towers rise, surrounded by modern, if traffic-clogged, highways.

Mr. Luzhkov’s early successes prompted him to yearn for a bigger role in national politics. Energetic and pugnacious, he earned widespread popularity by adopting a more nationalistic platform, including promoting Russian interests in neighboring countries.