Is it cold in Russia?

In 80% cases this is the first question that people ask when I travel as soon as they learn that I am from Russia. There is a belief that Russia is a country which is extremely cold. Especially in winter. I guess this is why some people who do not like cold are afraid to come to Russia in winter. But! I strongly recommend to try it, because winters here are fun - a lot of snow (if we are in luck), winter sports, snowman making...

Russia is big, and the climate, of course, differs from one part to another. In the central part it is not so cold: in winter sometimes we have long periods when the temperature does not go below 0  - for example, this New Year we were celebrating with rain, not with snow (the average temperature for January in Moscow is around -5-6 ºC though).

Well… last week it was freezing even in the central part (-30-35ºC), and believe me, this is cold for us too:). Not that cold that we will stay at home in such a weather, of course (my friends went skiing and skating, which meant spending from 1 to 4 hours out). I was not that brave and could ski only when it was -15ºC.

Skiing in a forest of Nizhniy Novgorod region

But today it is -8-9 and it is snowing heavily, so we went skating – perfect weather! Soft snow glowing in the moonlight, falling like in a fairy tale, gentle wind…You would enjoy it!

lovely snowfall! some snow on my head after 20 min of skating

However, if you come to Russia in winter, do not forget to take warm clothes with you. As my mother says, there is no bad weather, there are bad clothes. 

Stay warm!

xoxo

Photos by M. Morgunov, V. Alekseyev