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Almost 90,000 policemen to guard law and order drng Russian Christmas

Festive services will be held in some 8,900 churches across Russia and they will be visited by an estimated 2.5 million people

MOSCOW, January 6 (Itar-Tass) — Almost 90,000 policemen will be guarding law and order during the celebrations of Russian Orthodox Christmas on the night from January 6 to January 7 and throughout out the day January 7.

Like a number of other Eastern Orthodox Christian communities, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas in accordance with the ‘old-style’ Julian calendar, which is 14 days behind the Gregorian calendar adopted by Western denominations of Christianity.

The Julian calendar was in effect during Jesus Christ’s lifetime.

“During the Christmas services, a total of 87,000 policemen and slightly more than 2,000 servicemen of the Interior troops will be placed on duty at churches and in the adjoining areas,” a spokesman for the press service of the Interior Ministry said.

The forces reporting to the Interior Ministry will be joined on duty by almost 6,000 people working for private security agencies and about 11,000 members of public organizations giving support to the police.

“Festive services will be held in some 8,900 churches across Russia and they will be visited by an estimated 2.5 million people,” the spokesman said.

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