Bicycle, ice fishing and swimming: Enjoying winter like a Russian

Jan 12 2017

RBTH

Anastasiya Karagodina

A winter's day, Moscow, Dec. 20, 2016

Konstantin Kokoshkin/Global Look Press

The winter temperature in Russian towns and cities often send the mercury plunging to the chilliest depths. On Orthodox Christmas Day this year, Jan. 7, Moscow witnessed its coldest Christmas in 120 years, when a temperature of minus 29.9 Celsius (-21.82 Fahrenheit) degrees was recorded within the city and minus 33.4C (-28.12F) in the countryside beyond the urban sprawl. It was even colder in Western Siberia, where the mercury dropped to minus 45C (-49F). But Russians never let severe frosts interrupt their winter fun: They go skiing and bicycling, fishing on the ice, and even take dips in lakes through holes cut in the ice. RBTH presents a selection of images of Russia in the snow Russia, to inspire visitors and natives alike to take their sleds or enjoy a ride on a roller coaster.

Riders in the Second Winter Bicycle Parade, Moscow, Jan. 8, 2017

Sergey Savostianov/TASS

A man ice fishing at Bolshoi Sadovy Pond, Timiryazev Agricultural Academy Park, Moscow, Jan. 8, 2107

Valeriy Melnikov/RIA Novosti

Skiers race on a frozen pond near Moscow's Novodevichy convent as temperaturesrose after a cold spell in Moscow, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. That day the capital warmed up - to minus 9 Celsius (-15.8 Fahrenheit)

A young man near Nefteyugansk. The temperature dropped to minus 62 degrees Celsius (-79.6 Fahrenheit), Dec. 22, 2016.

Ruslan Shamukov/RIA Novosti

A member of the Cryophile amateur winter swimming club takes a bath in the icy waters of the Yenisei River during celebrations for the upcoming Christmas and New Year, with the air temperature at about minus 34 degrees Celsius (-29.2 Fahrenheit), in Krasnoyarsk, Dec. 24, 2016

Reuters

Moscow. Frosty glass with an inscription, minus 30 degrees Celsius. (-22 Fahrenheit), Jan. 6, 2017

Komsomolskaya Pravda/Global Look Press

An arctic fox being fed by hand, Moscow Zoo, Jan. 4, 2017

Sergey Kiselev/Moskva Agency

Moscow holds its first bicycle parade in 2017 despite a biting frost, Jan. 8, 2017

Komsomolskaya Pravda/Global Look Press

View of the hotel ‘Ukraine’ on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in frosty weather, Moscow, Jan. 9, 2017

Stoyan Vasev/TASS

A skier near Bolshoi Sadovy Pond, Timiryazev Agricultural Academy Park, Moscow, Jan. 8, 2107

Valeriy Melnikov/RIA Novosti

Cars near Nefteyugansk, Western Siberia. The temperature dropped to minus 62 degrees Celsius (-79.6 Fahrenheit), Dec. 22, 2016

Ruslan Shamukov/RIA Novosti

Moscow bicycle Siberia extreme weather Multimedia Nature People Viral in Russia