Russia in big freeze protest

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- Court action is being taken against utility officials held responsible for heating supply break-downs in Vladivostok as residents protested for a third day.

Around 200 people, the largest gathering yet, blocked one of the main roads into the Russian sea-port for several hours on Wednesday after power cuts of up to 16 hours in sub-zero temperatures.

The row has now also reached Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin was reported by Russian news agencies to have discussed the crisis with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.

Meanwhile, temperatures have dropped as low as minus -40 Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit).

One woman was shown on television saying she was not even able to make a hot cup of tea, while another asked how residents were supposed to care for their children in such conditions.

Amid the row, a local court gave the director of a municipal heating works a two-year suspended sentence after he was convicted of cutting off heating supplies.

A spokesman for the Primorye region prosecutor's office, which includes Vladivostok, said it was investigating a further 13 criminal cases linked with the disruption of electricity and heating in the region.

Local energy companies blame a surge in demand for electricity due to the plummeting temperatures, which has overloaded their ageing energy networks.

They have also found it difficult to get a steady supply of coal for their generators.

Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin as saying Putin and Kasyanov had discussed the energy problems in the Far East and that Kasyanov would hold a meeting with officials in charge of electricity supplies in Russia.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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