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johnhearst · Joined: 26 Jan 2011 Posts: 16

How cold can it get in Russia? And when it's cold what do people do? Ski? Snowboard or stay home?

smithrn1983 · Joined: 23 Jul 2010 Posts: 320 Location: Moscow

It really depends on where you are in Russia. Some places are MUCH colder than others, and some places that have lower temperatures actually feel warmer than those with higher ones. As for what people do, that also depends on where you are. Ice skating seems quite common just about everywhere, and cross-country skiing seems popular, too. If downhill skiing is more your thing, you might want to look into Ekaterinburg. In the end, though, if you can find something to do during winter, it's not that bad. The people who hate the cold are the ones who stay indoors all day throughout the long Russian winter and never do anything.

kazachka · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 220 Location: Moscow and Alaska

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

Depends on whereabouts you mean. European Russia? Siberia? The latter can go down to below -40 C and is fairly regularly at least as low as -15 and quite often -25/-30. In the summer, Siberia is very hot.

jpvanderwerf2001 · Joined: 02 Oct 2003 Posts: 1117 Location: New York

For me, the worst part about Russia's winters isn't the cold. Well, not exactly. The worst part is that one spends a lot more time outside than in a typical American city, therefore the cold affects you more. I'm from Minnesota, which is as cold if not colder than most of Russia. But in Minnesota, we park our cars in a heated garage, and rarely walk outside longer than it takes to get from the car to the front door of a shop. In Russia, I park my car outside, and even if I did have a garage it wouldn't be heated.
Also, at least in Vladivostok, the buses are quite old and poorly heated; hardly a respite from the cold.
Then there's the lack of proper cleaning of the streets and sidewalks, which makes many Russian cities basically ice rinks throughout the winter. This is quite inconvenient. To wit: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=475342027443&set=a.475341707443.254163.718607443
All in all, it's the lack of infrastructure and other realities of life that make Russian winters so trying, IMO; it isn't the temperatures.