Soup and hope for Russia's homeless

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ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov 6 (Reuters) Mikhail might not seem to have a lot going for him -- he's living rough in St Petersburg and facing another harsh winter in a rich city where most are oblivious to his plight. But today he is happy.

His favorite soccer team -- Zenit St Petersburg -- won a recent match and he has found out where to get a bowl of soup and slice of bread every night.

''I've been told a bus will be bringing food to the same place and at the same time every evening. I also need some clothes, they've made a note of my size,'' said the 53-year-old, who did not want to give his last name.

It might not sound like much but in a country with few facilities for the homeless and where scores of street dwellers died during the coldest winter in a generation last year, any offer of help is welcome.

In affluent and pretty St Petersburg, the winter cold sets in as early as October and lasts until April. More than 8,000 homeless people live here, out of a population of around five million.

Life as a homeless person is especially difficult in Russia as the country has preserved a unique remnant of the Soviet police system -- registration at the place of residence, without which access to a job, pension, medical care or any state benefits is impossible.

There are few charities to help the homeless and those that do operate are small and under funded.

So it is little wonder that Mikhail is excited about the arrival of a ''canteen on wheels'' run by local non-governmental organization Nochlezhka.

''A timely bowl of soup in winter time can save lives,'' said Maxim Egorov, head of Nochlezhka.

RICH MAN, POOR MAN the new night bus made its first trip in early October.

''Everyone who comes to the bus gets hot soup, bread, tea, help from a nurse and a chat with a social adviser. But we are limited in what we can do: we can feed only 150 people a night,'' said Mikhail Kovalenko, who works at Nochlezhka.

Medical help is available on site. Sometimes Nochlezhka's activists drive people with sores, wounds or heavy colds to hospital, and then argue for them to be accepted.