Russia: New Bomb/Disolves Government

[Christina]

Russia reveals new superbomb" and a person prone to worry might be reaching for the Tums.Curiously (or is it?) the superbomb story is getting big play where? In Iran's Press-TV.The development of a "vacuum bomb" is certainly a major break-through for the Russians in military technology - and one that "shocks" a lot of experts and politicians, who also are worried that it marks the start of a new arms race/cold war. A conventional device with the same kind of overpressure developed by nuclear devices previously. In comparison with the US MOAB (mother of all bombs), the technology is apparently similar, in that they are fuel air bombs (a small charge disperses the fuel, which is then detonated by a second charge resulting in a massive blast). It could be that Russia has equaled, or bettered, the US in the 'right' fuel mixture of ingredients to get maximum 'ooomph."Whether the New [Cold for now] War is underway depends how you construct the linkage between events. .......................................MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin dismissed his long-serving prime minister Wednesday and nominated little-known Cabinet official Victor Zubkov to replace him in a surprise move that could put Zubkov in the running to replace Putin next year.The nomination of Zubkov, who currently oversees the government's fight against money-laundering, appeared to have caught much of the Russian political elite off-guard.Putin had been expected to announce in December whom he would back to run for president next year _ and Russia's two first deputy prime ministers _ former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and gas giant Gazprom board chairman Dmitry Medvedev _ were widely considered to be the leading contenders.After dismissing Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov _ triggering the government's automatic dissolution _ Putin explained the shakeup was required to "prepare the country" for forthcoming elections. Legislative elections are to be held Dec. 2, and presidential elections are expected three months later.State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov backed the 65-year-old Zubkov's nomination, saying his "life path and professional activities in various fields undoubtedly allow him to lead the Cabinet of the Russian Federation."He said the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, could vote on the nomination as early as Friday.Zubkov's position in the Cabinet was relatively obscure; the Financial Monitoring Service he headed is an arm of the Finance Ministry that investigated money-laundering.Zubkov also served under Putin when the two worked in the city administration of St. Petersburg in the early 1990s. Putin has regularly tapped former colleagues from St. Petersburg to head top posts in the government.Putin is wildly popular among Russians, having brought stability and relative prosperity after the often chaotic presidency of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. As a result, whoever is nominated for the presidency by Putin is expected to win easily.