Vladimir Pekhtin, a deputy speaker of the State Duma (the lower chamber of parliament) and the head of a working group investigating the causes of the blackout, revealed this figure referring to information provided by the Emergencies Situations Ministry.
Pekhtin said the working group had received the ministry's final report on how it dealt with an accident at the Chagino substation outside Moscow.
"The power cuts affected directly 40,000 people and some 6 million indirectly," Pekhtin said.
According to him, more than 3,000 rescuers and 623 rescue vehicles were involved in the effort to deal with the blackout.
"The working group is continuing to investigate the causes of the power cuts and deputies expect to receive similar final reports from other commissions," he added.
The Emergencies Ministry's report said rescuers and Moscow metro staff evacuated over 20,000 people from trains that were stuck in underground tunnels between stations.
Moreover, people who were at stations and left the metro on their own were affected as well. In addition, about 15,000 people had to sit on long-distance trains and another 4,500 were trapped in elevators in apartment blocks.
The Emergencies Ministry report said the emergency power supply systems for the Moscow metro, railroads, industrial enterprises, cultural facilities and, in particular, health care establishments, had not worked effectively.
According to Pekhtin, industrial enterprises, cultural facilities and hospitals in four Russian regions were affected by the power cuts.
"The Emergencies Ministry report says that for two hours after the accident no duty service of the [electricity giant] Unified Energy Systems Russia reported on the emergency situation, its scale and possible development," Pekhtin said.
