Wildfires burning across Russia caused an infiltration of thick, ‘lung-aching‘ smog, ‘an acrid, choking haze‘ that swept into Moscow’s buildings and metro stations yesterday, ‘giving rise to talk of an apocalyptic nature‘ and conspiracy theories about ‘climate weapons‘, says RIA Novosti, which is also reporting that the smog had ‘all but cleared‘ this morning.  The Independent also echoes the apocalpytic tone in this piece on fire case studies: ‘It was like descending into hell.‘  Fire death tolls have reached 50, and President Dmitry Medvedev fired five officials in connection with fire damage at the Kolomna aviation base. ‘Everything that happened was the simple nonfulfillment of duties — criminal negligence,‘ he said, calling for a new fire safety program.  Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he would ensure that an angry blogger who criticized him in an entry ‘punctuated by obscene swear-words‘ would receive a fire alarm bell for his village ‘if he passed on his address‘.