"Ninety-three [crimes were reported] last year, more than anywhere else [in Russia]," he said, adding that Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg reported only 19 such crimes in 2008.
He said that overall number of registered crimes fell 10% in 2008, to slightly more than 3.2 million. The number of unsolved crimes fell 20%, to about 1.5 million.
The highest increase in registered crimes of 20% was registered in West Siberia's Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, followed by the Kemerovo Region in southwest Siberia with 13%. The northwestern Russian republic of Karelia and the North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia posted 8% growth.
Over 10,000 previously unsolved crimes, including 300 murders and almost 400 rapes, were solved in 2008.
