Bitter cold spreads to Europe

The bitter cold seizing Russia retained its icy grip today and severe freezing temperatures spread westwards into much of Europe.

More than 50 people have been reported killed by the cold wave in Russia, and scores of victims were recorded elsewhere in Europe over the weekend.

Amid growing demands on heating and electrical systems, many Russian communities suffered breakdowns.

The national electricity grid ordered reduced industrial consumption in Moscow to ensure adequate power for homes and hospitals, as temperatures in the capital hovered around minus 20C.

The ex-Soviet republic of Georgia was among the most heavily affected areas of Europe, suffering not only temperatures as low as minus 30 C, but also struggling with inadequate gas supplies after explosions blamed on sabotage cut off shipments of Russian gas yesterday morning.

Georgia scrambled for alternative supplies from neighbouring Azerbaijan, which began reaching the country last night, but service remained spotty today.

Moscow’s health directorate said 27 people had frozen to death in the Russian capital since the cold wave hit last week.

The Russian Health Ministry could not be reached for a nationwide tally of cold deaths, but figures compiled from news reports show at least 53 people dying from the cold.

In neighbouring Ukraine, 24 people died of the cold yesterday alone, the country’s Health Ministry said.

Elsewhere in Europe, seven people were reported killed by the cold in Estonia, where temperatures plunged to minus 30C; Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic each reported five dead , and three deaths were recorded in Moldova.

Nine Turkish foreign ministry employees died when the vehicle carrying them collided with a city bus in Ankara. Ten employees who survived the crash were being treated at hospitals in Ankara, the Foreign Ministry said.

At least 15 people were killed across Turkey and more than 150 injured Monday, the Anatolia news agency reported, as much of the country was pounded by bad winter.

One person in Elazig in the country’s east froze to death in a garden, the agency said.

Nearly 12,000 people were left without heat today in Podolsk, a town outside of Moscow, after a major hot-water pipe ruptured, a federal emergency official said.

Most Russian towns and cities are heated through municipal heating systems using hot water.

In the Far Eastern Chita region, some residences have been without heat for five days.

Heating interruptions also occurred in the Magadan area, where temperatures have hit minus 43C.

This winter is the coldest in Moscow since 1978-1979, when temperatures reached minus 38C.

The cold has severely strained Russia’s crumbling infrastructure.

Electricity use has surged to record levels as towns and cities struggle to keep indoor temperatures up, and Russians turn to supplemental heating sources including electric radiators.

The cut-off of gas to Georgia sparked an intense diplomatic row, with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili alleging that the cut-off was aimed at undermining the country’s stability.

The contention, echoed by Parliament Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, underlined the long-brewing tensions between Georgia and its one-time imperial master.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the allegations as “hysteria.”

Georgia simultaneously was coping with reduced electrical supplies from Russia, after a power line pylon was blown up on Sunday.

In Poland, Economics Minister Piotr Wozniak said Monday that supplies of Russian gas had fallen amid the cold wave. He said the main Polish gas supplier, PGNiG, was reacting by cutting its output to several industrial clients, including chemical plants, but said that households for the time being would not feel the drop.

Romania also reported a reduction in gas from Russia and four large chemical companies were shut down to keep enough gas available for homes and businesses.

Italy also was receiving less Russian gas, but was making up for the shortfall with its own reserves, Italy’s oil and gas company Eni SpA said.

Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom has said it was delivering enough to fulfil European contracts and its deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev today claimed Ukraine was taking more than its share from a pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe across Ukraine.

Medvedev’s comments on state television channel Rossiya echoed Russian allegations this month that Ukraine was siphoning off Europe-bound gas after Gazprom temporarily halted sales to Ukraine in a price dispute.

The national Russian electricity company, meanwhile, ordered restricted industrial consumption from 8am to 10.30pm, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

A slight respite for Russia could come in midweek, with temperatures in the Moscow region forecast to reach about minus 12C before falling again by the end of the week.