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Down And Out In Omsk: Homeless Cling To Hot Pipes To Survive Siberia's Cold

Many of Siberia’s homeless survive in freezing nighttime temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius by sleeping under an industrial heating pipe for warmth. If they get too close to the pipe for too long, they get severe burns. Officially, 3,500 homeless people live rough in the city of Omsk, though the real figure is likely higher.

Reuters photographer Alexey Malgavko captured these images of their perilous existence over the winter months.
Galya, 29, looks out from a makeshift shelter. She is one of the thousands of people living rough in the city of Omsk.
1 Galya, 29, looks out from a makeshift shelter. She is one of the thousands of people living rough in the city of Omsk.
Sasha, 49, nicknamed "Poltorashka" (a 1 1/2-liter beverage bottle), and Lyusya Stepanova, 44, sit on a warm pipe with their dog, Bim, as they share a meal. The pipes provide scalding hot water for heating local buildings.
2 Sasha, 49, nicknamed "Poltorashka" (a 1 1/2-liter beverage bottle), and Lyusya Stepanova, 44, sit on a warm pipe with their dog, Bim, as they share a meal. The pipes provide scalding hot water for heating local buildings.
Lyusya Stepanova, 44, sits on a warm pipe after waking up. She is considering trying to return to society after more than 27 years on the streets. She was hospitalized earlier this year for three weeks with serious burns across her body after she fell asleep too close to the pipes where she was sheltering. She is now in a rehabilitation center 30 kilometers outside of town.
3 Lyusya Stepanova, 44, sits on a warm pipe after waking up. She is considering trying to return to society after more than 27 years on the streets. She was hospitalized earlier this year for three weeks with serious burns across her body after she fell asleep too close to the pipes where she was sheltering. She is now in a rehabilitation center 30 kilometers outside of town.
Oleg, 57, nicknamed "Khudozhnik" (Artist), sits 300 meters away from an apartment block where he used to live.
4 Oleg, 57, nicknamed "Khudozhnik" (Artist), sits 300 meters away from an apartment block where he used to live.
Aleksei Vergunov, 46, nicknamed "Lyokha Boroda" (Lyokha the Beard), stands near his makeshift shelter with his dog, Bella. He worries that -- in the haze of hard alcohol he drinks to keep warm and dull reality -- he might get severe burns by sleeping too close to the pipe.  
5 Aleksei Vergunov, 46, nicknamed "Lyokha Boroda" (Lyokha the Beard), stands near his makeshift shelter with his dog, Bella. He worries that -- in the haze of hard alcohol he drinks to keep warm and dull reality -- he might get severe burns by sleeping too close to the pipe.
 
Vergunov and Andrei, nicknamed "Prizrachnyy Gonshchik" (Ghost Rider), organize aluminum cans that they brought to a recycling center for money.
6 Vergunov and Andrei, nicknamed "Prizrachnyy Gonshchik" (Ghost Rider), organize aluminum cans that they brought to a recycling center for money.
Vergunov brings bottles and aluminum cans to a recycling center. Omsk, which lies three time zones east of Moscow, has a night shelter for the homeless, but it's in a distant part of town. Vergunov doesn't sleep there, needing instead to stay close to where he earns his keep.
7 Vergunov brings bottles and aluminum cans to a recycling center. Omsk, which lies three time zones east of Moscow, has a night shelter for the homeless, but it's in a distant part of town. Vergunov doesn't sleep there, needing instead to stay close to where he earns his keep.
Denis, nicknamed Den "Mladshy" (Junior), pushes a pram that he uses to store and transport glass bottles and other recyclable items he can exchange for payment.
8 Denis, nicknamed Den "Mladshy" (Junior), pushes a pram that he uses to store and transport glass bottles and other recyclable items he can exchange for payment.
Lyuda eats a hot meal at a soup kitchen run by volunteers.
9 Lyuda eats a hot meal at a soup kitchen run by volunteers.
Vergunov waits to receive a payment for recyclable items that he collected and brought in.
10 Vergunov waits to receive a payment for recyclable items that he collected and brought in.
People get meals at a charity event organized by a Catholic organization to distribute food and gifts to homeless and lower-income citizens during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
11 People get meals at a charity event organized by a Catholic organization to distribute food and gifts to homeless and lower-income citizens during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
A homeless man smokes a cigarette as he attends a charity event organized by Caritas, a Catholic organization.
12 A homeless man smokes a cigarette as he attends a charity event organized by Caritas, a Catholic organization.
A man with an Orthodox church tattooed on his hand attends a charity event organized by Caritas.
13 A man with an Orthodox church tattooed on his hand attends a charity event organized by Caritas.
Yevgeny Korobov, 43, nicknamed "Korobok" (Box), sits in a makeshift shelter inside an underground pipe chamber.
14 Yevgeny Korobov, 43, nicknamed "Korobok" (Box), sits in a makeshift shelter inside an underground pipe chamber.
"Poltorashka" eats breakfast on a hot pipe.
15 "Poltorashka" eats breakfast on a hot pipe.
Vergunov rolls a cigarette with a torn piece of paper.
16 Vergunov rolls a cigarette with a torn piece of paper.
A nun checks the blood pressure of a man who is homeless during a charity event organized by Caritas.
17 A nun checks the blood pressure of a man who is homeless during a charity event organized by Caritas.
A homeless woman listens to a police officer as she sits on a pipe.
18 A homeless woman listens to a police officer as she sits on a pipe.
Bystrushkin, who is visually impaired and homeless, looks through a rubbish bin.
19 Bystrushkin, who is visually impaired and homeless, looks through a rubbish bin.
A homeless man rests on a warm pipe.
20 A homeless man rests on a warm pipe.
Stepanova, 44, smokes a cigarette after waking up. 
21 Stepanova, 44, smokes a cigarette after waking up. 
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