Municipal services in Moscow cleared 425,000...

"In 24 hours, the city removed 425 thousand cubic meters of snow from the streets. The snow removal involved 12,000 snow-clearing machines and 8,500 dump trucks," city spokesman Igor Pergamenshchik told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

Russia is marking Defenders of the Fatherland Day at the end of a four-day weekend that saw little break in the snowfall until Tuesday morning.

But the holiday was canceled for many of the city"s snow-clearance teams.

"Public utilities continue to operate in emergency mode. The snow must be removed," Pergamenshchik said.

He said 5,500 people were working to clear the snow ahead of Wednesday"s return to work.

Meteorologists say February in Moscow was the snowiest in the past 40 years, with five days of the month to go.

MOSCOW, February 23 (RIA Novosti)