Deadly cold snap settles on Russia

MOSCOW -- Temperatures so frigid that even winter-hardened Russians complained, gripped Moscow and much of the rest of the country for a third day yesterday. At least two dozen people reportedly died of exposure nationwide and Russians used a record amount of electricity to keep warm.

Temperatures dropped to 22 degrees below zero overnight, Moscow's First Deputy Mayor Pyotr Aksyonov said in televised comments. By early today, the cold was expected to plummet to minus 31 or lower.

Twelve people died of exposure in the Novgorod region, northwest of Moscow, and two in the capital, the Interfax news agency said. In the Volgograd region, about 550 miles southeast of Moscow and less accustomed to such cold, 10 people died, ITAR-Tass reported.

On Tuesday, electricity consumption nationwide hit a record 146,000 megawatts, the head of national electricity monopoly RAO Unified Energy Systems, Anatoly Chubais said.

Chubais said electricity supplies to residential buildings and essential facilities would not be affected.

The cold coincides with today's Russian Orthodox holiday of the Epiphany, which tradition says ushers in a cold period known as the Epiphany Frosts.

Some particularly hardy Russians celebrate Epiphany by plunging into rivers and ponds. Authorities in the region advised against the ritual this year.