| A top Duma political leader caused shock waves in a recent television interview when he warned that Russia could deploy an arsenal of new technology to "destroy any part of the planet" and kill over a hundred million people using secret weather weapons if the United States, the UN or Georgia tried to stop Russia's entry into the WTO. Vladimir Zhirinovsky is Vice-Chairman of the Russian State Duma and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the first officially sanctioned opposition party after the fall of communism. The LDPR has deep links with the former KGB and Communist Party and has become a significant force in Russian politics, despite Zhirinovsky himself being branded as a militant neo-fascist. According to a translation provided by a Russian speaker, during the interview Zhirinovsky went off on a bizarre tangent after he was asked how Russia should treat countries like Georgia and the United States who try and block Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization. Saying that the American government in Washington DC had "no future" and would "collapse," Zhirinovsky cited Russia's supremacy in space and stated that the country had, "Lots of money, resources, and new weapons that no one knows about." "With them we will destroy any part of the planet within 15 minutes," he sensationally warned. "Not an explosion, not a ray burst, not some kind of laser, not lightning, but a quiet and peaceful weapon," added Zhirinovsky, warning that "whole ... |
