Governor intervenes for black snow

The governor of the Russian Kemerovo region has shut down a coal production company for the time being because he holds it responsible for the still eroding black snow.

Snow mixed with coal dust earlier this month gave three cities in the Siberian industrial and mining area, 3000 kilometers east of Moscow, the sight of 'Mordor', the terrifying black empire from Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings'. The inhabitants of Kiseljovsk, Prokopiev and Leninsk-Kuznetsky shared the images and their concerns on the internet.