(((*Thirty below zero centigrade? Hey, I'm a Texas boy;
I don't think I'd live ten minutes in those conditions.)))
From RFE/RL:
GAZPROM CUTS GAS SUPPLIES TO EUROPE IN FACE OF EXTREME COLD...
Gazprom has reduced its deliveries to several European countries in
response to extremely cold temperatures at home, which reached minus 31 degrees Celsius in Moscow on 19 January with no relief in sight, Russian and international media reported. Reports regarding the extent of the cuts and the countries involved vary, but Gazprom
insists it is meeting its domestic and foreign contractual obligations. A spokesman told "The Moscow Times" that "the situation is very tense," adding that "it is possible that some of our partners are getting less [gas from Gazprom] than they would like." Energy
Minister Viktor Khristenko said that the government is considering
releasing an unspecified quantity of fuel reserves for the domestic
market.
In Rome, the Italian government called an emergency meeting
with the heads of the largest power companies to plan a response to a 5.4 percent drop in Russian gas deliveries, the "Financial Times"
reported. In Budapest, Economy and Transport Minister Janos Koka said that the 20 percent cuts Hungary is facing are "not unusual," but he noted that he is continuing international talks aimed at diversifying sources of energy imports. Russia's behavior in the recent dispute with Ukraine over gas prices prompted some countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary to take steps to reduce their dependency on Russian energy supplies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 January 2006). PM
...AS RUSSIANS SEEK TO COPE. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov appealed to employers on 18 January to let their staffs have the next two days off to "ease the burden on the capital's power system during the severe cold," RIA-Novosti reported. Several dozen deaths from exposure have been reported across Russia since the recent cold snap began, including 12 in Novgorod Oblast and 10 in Volgograd Oblast. In Moscow, 11 people have died from exposure since 16 January. In several regions across Russia, including Chita Oblast in Siberia, thousands of people were left without heating recently when pipes in their central-heating systems burst.
In Yaroslavl, staffers at a traveling circus reportedly fed elephants a mixture of vodka and water to keep them warm. Keepers at the Lipetsk zoo gave monkeys wine for the same reason. In Moscow, police reportedly stopped their usual practice of evicting vagrants from stairwells and metro and railway stations. The cold did not, however, deter many Russians from marking Orthodox Epiphany on 19 January by jumping into lakes and rivers in a
traditional practice recalling the baptism of Christ. PM
