How do Russians manage to survive in this climate?

A girl walks among snowmen built as part of a display on a street in Moscow.

A man walks under an umbrella on Red Square in Moscow. Icy rain fell this weekend in Moscow, covering streets, trees and cars with ice while temperatures dropped today to -5 C (23 F).

The annual cross-country ski race "Moscow Ski Track".

St.petersburg after a heavy snowfall.

An old woman cleans snow in a settlement Beregovoi outside the Siberian city of Kemerovo.

Snow sliding and ice sliding -- that's what makes kids happy during the winter time!

Snow sliding and ice sliding -- that's what makes kids happy during the winter time!

The atomic icebreaker "Yamal" in Murmansk

A municpal worker carrying a snow shovel walks past parked cars covered in snow in Moscow.

The very best snow for packing into snowballs is denser, moister snow that falls when it is near freezing. If you wake up to a blanket of white snow and it's under 0°C (about 30°F) outside, you'll most likely have optimal snowball fight conditions.

Municipal workers breaking dangerous icicles from the roof of a building in downtown in St Petersburg.

A participant runs during a traditional Christmas Half Marathon in Omsk at air temperatures of -30 C.

The Muromtsev Dacha built at the end of the 19th century in Moscow's southern Tsaritsyno District

Boys play hockey on a frozen part of Lake Baikal which they have cleared of snow.

Ice skating is one of the most popular form of winter entertainment in Russia.

Members of a local ice swimmers club roll around in snow after taking a dive in the Yenisei river in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

A woman rubs the back of another woman with snow while standing between trees covered in hoarfrost after taking a bath in the Siberian river of Yenisey in Krasnoyarsk. The members of the local ice-bathing club enjoyed a swim in the icy water of the Yenisey River at temperatures of around -28 C (-14.8 F)

Riders compete on the frozen Yenisei river during the Ice Derby amateur horse race, which has been held annually at the end of each winter since 1969.

Riders compete on the frozen Yenisei river during the Ice Derby amateur horse race, which has been held annually at the end of each winter since 1969.

An woman makes her way along a hoar-frosted embankment during an early morning walk in central Moscow.

A thermal power plant in the north of Russia.