Like its predecessor, the regime of Russian president Vladimir Putin is being engulfed by an economic and social crisis. With temperatures reaching 50 below zero, anger among working people is rising over the lack of electricity. One apartment building in Primorye has been without heat for five years.

Bitter cold has hammered the country over the past several months as more than 100 people died of hypothermia in Moscow since October 10. Hundreds of people have also died from the cold in Russia's far east region. In Vladivostok, three people froze to death and nine were killed by fires caused by faulty heating systems since January 21. At least 20 people died of cold in nearby Khabarovsk.

With day-long blackouts, many people live in darkness most of the time. Icicles have formed in some homes--more than 16,000 people in Primorye live with little or no heat, according to official estimates. "I have to lay my daughter on the kitchen floor with the oven door open to keep her warm at night," said a supermarket worker in Vladivostok.
 
 
Related articles:
Moscow bolsters military ties with neighboring republics  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home