Hundreds of forest fires spread across Russia this weekend through fourteen regions, necessitating the evacuation of over 5,000 people and mobilizing 180,000 to help fight the flames, estimates the Moscow Times.  ‘Neither fire nor wind have days off, so we can’t take any days off,‘ said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, promising to compensate those who lost their homes and threatening the jobs of administrators in areas that have suffered.  Germany and Ukraine have both pledged their help, and the Russian Navy has been brought on board.  In Nizhny Novgorod, an area particularly badly hit, Orthodox Patriarch Kirill called upon Russia ‘to unite in prayer for rain to descend on our earth‘.  The New York Times reports that the death toll has reached 34.  The BBC has a video report, and anticipates ongoing fires this coming week as temperatures remain high and hundreds of fires continue to burn.