MOSCOW: Lawmakers in Russia-occupied Crimea, which is grappling with a nearly two-week-long blackout, are suggesting parents name their newborn boys Generator to mark the ordeal.

Unknown attackers blew up electricity pylons in Ukraine on November 22, leaving the peninsula largely without power. After Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, it began building an underwater electricity cable system to Crimea from Russia's Krasnodar region, and Russia President Vladimir Putin traveled there on Wednesday to inaugurate the first delivery of Russian power.

Russian news agencies on Friday quoted local parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantinov suggesting that parents name their newborn girls Sveta, or "light" in Russian, and boys "Generator" to highlight the government's efforts to overcome the crisis.

At least half of Crimea's 2 million population was believed to be without electricity at mid-week.