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275,000 police to watch law/order during New Year holidays in Russia

Special attention will be paid to security of the country's main Christmas tree during the December 26 show

MOSCOW, December 25 (Itar-Tass) — More than 275,000 police officers will watch law and order during the New Year holidays across Russia, an official at the Interior Ministry’s main department for public order told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

"Over 22,000 New Year events will take place overnight from December 31 to January 1 in the country, involving 7,500 citizens, and more than 128,000 police will be watching public order during these events," the official said.

Traditionally, Christmas shows for children will be staged in all the provinces. In all, 41 million Russians will take part in New Year and Christmas events.

"The Interior Ministry plans to assign 275,000 police and interior troops to watch public order during the New Year holidays. Special attention will be paid to security of the country's main Christmas tree during the December 26 show, in which 4,200 children from all regions of the Russian Federation will participate, as well from South Ossetia and Abkhazia," the police official said.

Also, police will ensure the security of children's traveling from regions to the Kremlin Christmas tree show and back. Police details will accompany groups of children on trains and patrol cars will accompany the children riding in buses.

Security measures at the All-Russia Christmas show at the State Kremlin Palace will be taken by 8,500 police, and the law-enforcement bodies will tighten security during the Christmas, when hundreds of hundreds of thousands parishioners will go to churches to celebrate a key religious holiday.

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