Putin dissolves Russian government

[comiso90]

Putin, in a surprise, dissolves Russian government - CNN.com

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russian 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.
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Putin's nomination of a little-known Cabinet official apparently caught Russia's political elite off-guard.

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 December 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."
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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. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

[uhhuh35]

But I'm sure he means well...

[ccheese]

Sounds like "you scratch my back................... "

Charles

[Erich]

Charles you've seen the Soviets do this in the past just like me...........what goes around comes around and it ain't ever good

E ~ Pukin is a typical KGB maggot

[comiso90]

"Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss"

.... The Who, Won't get fooled again.

.

[ccheese]

Methinks they have a revolving door on their cabinet......

Of course, they could have shot the outgoing party......

Charles

[Erich]

wasn't there quite a large above earth explosion in soviet held territory this morn ?

[timshatz]

I think we're going to be seeing a lot of Mr Putin for the next 20 years or so. This guy is not going to go quietly into the sunset. He's going to be around and in charge.

You guys in Eastern Europe are probably watching this one. Forget Iraq, this is the one that's going to be on the radar for the next decade or so.

'08 is going to be an election year for the US and Russia. For both, it is going to be a big one.

[ToughOmbre]

Originally Posted by timshatz

I think we're going to be seeing a lot of Mr Putin for the next 20 years or so. This guy is not going to go quietly into the sunset. He's going to be around and in charge.

Until he's dead he's the top dog. Make no mistake about it.

TO

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

Putin the next Lenin? Or maybe Stalin?

[timshatz]

Originally Posted by Soundbreaker Welch?

Putin the next Lenin? Or maybe Stalin?

Closer to a Peter the Great, sans "The Great" part. Something of a benovelent dictator. Can't believe he's going to be another Stalin (Russia can't afford another guy who wipes out a third of the population, one way or another). And Putin knows it.

He wants Russia to be great again and wants to be the guy doing it. But he will whack anyone who gets in his way. But only as a last resort. Would rather have their assets appropriated by the state and the problem minimized.

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

I wonder if Bush wishes he had more clout. I remember him saying, his job would be easier if the US goverment was a dictatorship, as long as he's the dictator.