President Medvedev gets 'nuclear suitcase'

Dmitry Medvedev takes command of "nuclear suitcase" containing codes and buttons to authorise a strike against an enemy by the country's strategic nuclear forces.

Russia's newly sworn-in President Dmitry Medvedev was handed over the so-called "nuclear suitcase" containing codes and buttons to authorise a strike against an enemy by the country's strategic nuclear forces.

42-year-old Medvedev, who was sworn in to succeed Vladimir Putin hours earlier, took command of the arsenal as the new Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces by two ADCs of the rank of colonels at a brief ceremony in Kremlin.

Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and military officers were present on the occasion, according to the Kremlin press service.

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