It took firefighters nearly two hours to put out the fire, which occurred in electrical wiring between the 10th and the 13th floors of the high-rise belonging to the Russian defense ministry, officials said.

"Firemen have inspected the areas where there is still smoke, and where there are still some flames," a spokesman quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency said. "We are trying to determine what caused the blaze," he said.

No one was injured in the fire or the evacuation.