Vladimir Zubkov, a spokesman for the city police, said not a single murder was recorded overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. On average there were 3 to 4 murders every night, he said.
"It is because the police and army strengthened security measures in the city due to the situation in Chechnya," Zubkov said. How this explained a halt in domestic killings, which make up 80 percent of murders in Moscow, was not clear.
He said there had been 165 other crimes overnight but usually police registered more than 200 crimes.
He said the last "calm" night had been registered during the two-week curfew established in Moscow after the bloody Oct. 3-4 events in 1993.
But the pause in murders was made up for by the recent cold spell in the capital. That night, according to The Associated Press six people froze to death on city streets overnight Tuesday to Wednesday.
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