Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today declared a state of emergency over the wildfires in seven Russian regions. Russian news agencies quoted the decree as saying the emergency was declared in the regions of Mairi El, Mordovia, Vladimir, Voronezh, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan. The decree allows local authorities to restrict public access to certain areas where their presence could risk creating the conditions for more fires to start.Meanwhile, the death toll from the worst summer fires to hit Russia in a generation has risen to 34. The emergencies ministry has deployed hundreds of thousands of workers along with 2,000 members of the armed forces to fight a disaster. Officials say the worst hit regions have included the area around the city of Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia as well as the Moscow region itself.Moscow has been blanketed again today in a heavy fog of smoke generated from peat fires burning in the countryside around the city. The emergencies ministry says around 128,000 hectares of land is on fire around the country but it claims the situation is now under control, even if the dangers remain high.