Quote:

Putin Dissolves Russian Government Email this Story Sep 12, 9:47 AM (ET) By MIKE ECKEL (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin seen at his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung... Full Image MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin dissolved Russia's government Wednesday in a major political shakeup ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections, the Kremlin said. The dissolution is expected to result in a new prime minister, who will be seen as Putin's choice to succeed him after he steps down next spring. The newspaper Vedomosti, citing unidentified Kremlin officials, reported that Sergei Ivanov, a first deputy prime minister and a leading contender to succeed Putin, could be appointed to replace Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Another first deputy prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, who is a top executive at natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom, is considered the other leading contender. Under the constitution, Putin has two weeks to propose a new head of government, which the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, then has a week to vote on. Russian news agencies said Fradkov would serve as acting prime minister until the vote. Fradkov said he asked for the dissolution of the government because with elections approaching, Putin needed to have a free hand to make decisions, including those concerning appointments. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for Dec. 2, followed some three months later by presidential balloting. "You might be right that we must all think about how to structure the government so that it better suits the pre-election period and prepares the country for what will happen after the parliamentary and presidential elections," Putin said.

I figure with all the Russia news we post it was time for a new topic.  I think Putin is having flashbacks to KGB days when he could just off someone for whatever reason he felt like.  This is the next best thing for him.

X

The title is a bit misleading.  Putin dissolved the executive arm by dismissing the prime minister and his cabinet, but he certainly didn't "dismiss the government."  It'd be equivalent to the president dismissing the vice president and his administration.

-b0b
(...still thinks it's pretty freakin' cool, though.)

so fired and not killed?  Where is the old russia I grew up with?

Haha, you didn't exactly "grow up with" the Soviet Union, maybe 5 or 6 years of it.

This post title is highly misleading.

I saw it and thought perhaps I had missed a huge news story ;)

grew up/read about same damn thing.

you shut your dirty jew mouth briney!

It is misleading but you have to realize how huge this is.  This is somewhat the equivalent of Bush dismissing everyone he can; the VP, all cabinet members, all lawyers, and not to mention everyone that works under these people.

I love how there was no real reason for it given.

Shoot I grew up with 6 years of it.  The earliest memory I have of anything global is the first Iraq war.  Can anyone remember Reagan, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the announcement of the fall of the Soviet Union?  President Bush I and Iraq are the first things I can remember.

X

I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, but only barely.

This isn't a huge news story, it's just business as usual in Russia.

-b0b
(...is surprised nobody got gacked.)