A New is Emerging from History's Shadow

Two separate news stories came out recently about how Russia is beefing up its arsenal and trying to keep its population up, as well. At first glance the stories appear to be unrelated, but on closer inspection they do share a common theme—Russia’s ambition to become bigger and better in a post-communist world that has been a harsh struggle for many of its citizens.

The Kremlin has been campaigning for citizens to boost the country’s birth rate. In support of the initiative, the governor of a central Russian province urged couples to skip work on Wednesday to go home and make love instead. It’s just one way the government is hoping to help boost Russia's low birth-rate. Women who give birth 9 months from now (on Russia's national day on June 12) will be rewarded with prizes, such as household items, or maybe even a new home.

"It's normally something for the home -- a fridge or a television set," Yelena Yakovleva at the Ulyanovsk regional administration press office, said. "It doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy."

Russia is trying to reverse the trend of a shrinking population, which is down by about 700,000 annually. Birth rates have failed to keep up with a high death rate, partially due to the country’s increasing AIDS, alcoholism and suicide rate.

This is the third year Ulyanovsk region, famous for being the birthplace of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin, has dedicated a day to encouraging couples to have babies. On Russia Day this year, a family won a jeep after their fourth baby was born on the national holiday. Next year, the top prizes will include an apartment, Regional governor Sergei Morozov said.

"We need more people…the scheme is working. People want the prizes."

While the population issue is complex and multi-faceted, one reason why the Kremlin would like to see the population grow is that it’s hard to be a world superpower when you’ve got a huge elderly population and fewer potential soldiers at your disposal.

Russia has been beefing up it’s military arsenal, and has been eager to show the world that they’re still a force to be reckoned with—a fact high-lighted by Russia’s recent testing of the world's most powerful vacuum bomb. Dubbed the "father of all bombs", the device unleashes a destructive shockwave with the power of a nuclear blast, but without the radioactive aftermath.

"Test results of the new airborne weapon have shown that its efficiency and power is commensurate with a nuclear weapon," said Alexander Rukshin, Russian deputy armed forces chief of staff, told Russia's state ORT First Channel television. "You will now see it in action, the bomb which has no match in the world is being tested at a military site."

It showed a Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber dropping the bomb over a testing ground. A large explosion followed. (See video link below.)

Pictures showed what looked like a flattened multi-story block of flats surrounded by scorched soil and boulders. "The soil looks like a lunar landscape," the report said. "The defense ministry stresses this military invention does not contradict a single international treaty. Russia is not unleashing a new arms race."

This explosion generates a pressure wave that reaches much further than that from a conventional explosive. The blast is accompanied by rapid gas consumption, which in turn generates a partial vacuum effect that can compound the damage caused by the explosion itself.

"The main destruction is inflicted by an ultrasonic shockwave and an incredibly high temperature," the reports said. "All that is alive merely evaporates."

Rukshin said: "At the same time, I want to stress that the action of this weapon does not contaminate the environment, in contrast to a nuclear one."

The report said the new bomb was much stronger than the U.S.-built Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB), also known as the "Mother of All Bombs". "So, Russian designers called the new weapon 'Father of All Bombs'."

So the US has the Mother bomb and the USSR has the Father bomb. Sounds like a “marriage” that will indeed produce many more “children”, but just not the kind that Russia—nor the rest of the world—really needs.

Posted by Rebecca Sato

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