MOSCOW, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- False bomb alarms continue to hit Russian cities since the start of 2020, Russian media reported on Thursday, the first working day in the country after the New Year holidays.
Moscow's Kursk, Kiev and Yaroslavl railway stations, a city hospital and several district courts had to be evacuated after receiving anonymous blast threats, but later inspectors found the threats were hoaxes, TASS news agency reported.
Also on Thursday, security services had to inspect a number of Moscow schools and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior because of bomb hoaxes, according to TASS.
Supermarket store chains in the Moscow region also underwent checks due to explosion threats, TASS said.
Seven district courts, five metro stations, the Pulkovo Airport, several grocery stores and maternity homes in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg had to be evacuated, it added.
The agency also reported that some 3,500 employees of the Amur Shipbuilding Plant in Russia's far eastern Khabarovsk region had to be evacuated due to a bomb threat.
According to Interfax news agency, about 100 schools in Moscow received mass mailings about planted bombs on Wednesday, but did not carry out evacuations because students were still on vacation.
Also on Wednesday, an explosion threat was received in central Moscow's Ukraine Hotel. There was no evacuation there either, Interfax said.
False bomb reports have been spread in Moscow and St. Petersburg since Nov. 28.
According to Interfax sources, by the end of December, threats were sent to 12,000 institutions in the Russian capital and some facilities had to be checked repeatedly. Over one million people had to be evacuated during the inspections.
Threats were most commonly directed at courts, educational institutions, shopping malls and metro stations. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior alone received eight threats, Interfax said.
