[MSN] Russia's imperial capital, St Petersburg, is fighting floods as winds from the Gulf of Finland have been whipping up waves near some of the city's Tsarist treasures.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

 St Petersburg On Flood Alert    
9:19 am, 11 Jan 2007 

Russia's imperial capital, St Petersburg, is fighting floods as winds from
the Gulf of Finland have been whipping up waves near some of the city's
Tsarist treasures.

Russia's second city, built on islands and marshes near the River Neva, has
had to close some embankments to traffic as waves pushed water levels 2.2m
higher than normal.

The Emergency Ministry says water has not yet reached the Hermitage Museum,
which houses artefacts ranging from Faberge cigarette cases used by the
Tsars to paintings by Pablo Picasso.

European Russia has faced an extraordinarily warm winter which has replaced
normal freezing temperatures, ice and snow with rain and mud.