Police in the Tver region said field kitchens were operating on the road, but many drivers complained supplies never reached them and they were running out of gasoline to keep their engines running and heating on in subzero temperatures.

"Drivers help one another and that's it, the problems are on the side of the authorities, there are no gasoline tankers, no water, nothing, we are just stuck here," a truck driver who identified himself as Sergei told Rossiya 24 TV channel.

Another man told the state broadcaster he had advanced one km over the previous 24 hours.

Reports put the length of the traffic jam at between 40 km and 200 km (120 miles) at different times on Sunday.

"The reach of the traffic jam at present is no longer than 55 km and is gradually falling," Interfax news agency quoted a police official as saying on Sunday evening.

The M-10 highway links Moscow with Russia's second largest city St.Petersburg, some 700 km north-west from the capital, and stretches further to the border with Finland.

Russia's infrastructure has been plagued with problems since the Soviet era, when defence spending was high at the expense of roads, housing, healthcare and other civilian needs.