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Thursday, 19 January 2006, 12:15 GMT

In pictures: Russian freeze

Smoke and steam rise from Moscow's power plants

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Moscow's power plants take the strain as Russians struggle to keep warm amid temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius

A woman walks through a snow-covered Moscow park

A woman walks through a snow-covered Moscow park

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It is the coldest spell in the Russian capital for at least a decade.

A policeman bundles up in Moscow's Red Square

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The cold has closed schools and businesses, and shut down part of the transport network. But for this policeman, it was business as usual.

Two homeless people sit on a ventilation grid to keep warm while their dogs barks at the photographer

Two homeless people sit on a ventilation grid to keep warm while their dogs barks at the photographer

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Homeless people keep warm on a ventilation grid. Two people died in Moscow from hypothermia on Wednesday night. Nationally, 24 people are said to have died from exposure.

Traffic police on duty in downtown Moscow

Traffic police on duty in downtown Moscow

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Traffic police in Moscow brave freezing conditions to control traffic. Temperatures are forecast to fall even further, a Moscow official said.

A man takes a dip in a poll cut into the ice on the Moskva river

A man takes a dip in a poll cut into the ice on the Moskva river

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Despite the cold, Russian Orthodox believers observe the custom of a dip in icy waters on the eve on the 19 January Epiphany. This pool was cut in ice on the Moskva River.

Woman in heavy coat reading by candlelight in her house

Woman in heavy coat reading by candlelight in her house

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A woman in the village of Zakhafkovo near Moscow reads by candlelight after an accident cut power supply to the village

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