Living In Russia Has Made Me Fall In Love With The Winters

I was recently on video call with a friend and off course she asked me how the climate was, this question is always asked in light of the knowledge of the stereotypical Russian winter. She was already half smiling. She went on to open up about how cold, people are feeling in Mumbai at 15°-18°. And I confessed that I am rather disappointed this season because the temperatures are just not living up to the hype of the stereotype.

Last winter the normal average in Kaliningrad remained -13° to -18° with an occasional spike to -21° whereas St. Petersburg and Moscow (these places are further up in a different time zone) the normal is -24 with strong winds, blizzards that uproot trees pretty easily, in every winter.

Photo of Living In Russia Has Made Me Fall In Love With The Winters! 1/3 by Rashmi Sharma — Uprooted trees due to snowy blizzards

There is always a hard freeze specially close to the canals and the lakes.

Photo of Living In Russia Has Made Me Fall In Love With The Winters! 2/3 by Rashmi Sharma — The frozen river Pregolya

Being mindful of the amount of snow there can be on the sidewalks and how cold and harsh the climate can be helps you make the good and important decisions. Spend your money where it should be spent (on kitting up well)!

Photo of Living In Russia Has Made Me Fall In Love With The Winters! 3/3 by Rashmi Sharma

There is an air of mystery and exotica around this country. Partly good partly not so good. Because the questions that logically flow out of any one's mind due to pre conceived notions came from her too.

She went on to ask me - "Is it SAFE to visit Russia? What is the best time to visit?"

I will answer both. The emphasis of this article is to answer the latter through photographs.

With love from Russia , с любовю из Росии

YES YES YES!!! it is absolutely SAFE to visit Russia. As safe as any other country in the world. The people are warm, polite, patient, not racist even if you don't know the language. This is more than I can say for any other western country. They have recently become open to the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s and have immense pride for their language which is why foreigners have made a lot of assumptions and are apprehensive about visiting.

Should I worry about communication?

A tourist will not have any problem navigating in the times of Google translate, and google translate I mention as a last resort. You may end up using the app at ticket counters and touristic spots. Many of the older generation peopled some from the younger generation might not know English.

However, I have not come across a restaurant or shop where they don't have at least 1 staff member speaking in English. If you are coming with a tour company you don't have to worry about communicating,

There will be help (Translators) available with your hotel. There are many Indian restaurants in both these cities.

If you plan to come here on your own and then get attached with a tour operator (more cost effective), you can exercise the option of talking to the staff at the Indian restaurant. Most of them will readily hook you up with the right contacts for a guided tour.

Will I be safe?

And if by safety you are asking about the Russian mafia or the "oh so Intense" image created by Hollywood. Then its like watching "Slumdog Millionaire" and saying I have seen India I don't need to actually go there!

Can you walk around and enter creepy dark bylanes /subways all alone at 2AM ?

Well don't do that in London or USA or any other country in the world as well. As Indians we know enough to NEVER EVER do it in India as well, even in the capital city of New Delhi or Mumbai in fact specially in Delhi. I hope I answered the safety question to everyone's satisfaction.

Now for the good part..

When is the best time to visit not just Russia but any country/city in the world? For me it's the off season! What scares people about the off season?

The climate, the preparedness. I will answer these questions as clearly as I can. If you run a google search the warm balmy months of June - August are the top recommendation and rightly so. I will let these pictures do the talking.

In this article I want to concentrate on the Russian winter and how can one make it an enjoyable experience rather than a terrifying one.

After living in Russia for 3 winters I consider myself a spokesperson for the Russian Winter. I will make my point by putting up more pictures and less text.

Why should off-season be your new friend?

1. The price difference for everything - accommodation, hiring a car, travel expenditure, guided tours is exorbitant.

If I rented a beautiful Airbnb on Nevsky (the Main Street of SPB) for 3000 Roubles a night in the winter the exact same was available for Rs. 15000 a night in the summer. The same with a much higher difference is true for hotels like Radisson (Moscow & SPB), Novotel, Lotte, Hilton (Moscow).

2. All tourist spots will have long queues and will be crowded during the summer and it will show in the photographs you take. You achieve more during the off season. You spend less time in queues and more inside the museums or other important places on your itinerary .

You enter and leave a place faster so you will spend more time walking on the street or sitting in a café soaking in the beauty of Russian architecture.

There is no bad climate, only bad clothes!

3. How to kit up for the winter and sail through your vacation in the off season like a BOOOSSSSS!!! Start from the head to the toes here is your check of list -Good quality Woolen cap, scarf, insulated gloves(warm with outer only leather/ water proof insulating material), Thermals (Preferably Columbia base layer both top and bottom), Woolen Sweater to add a wooden layer, long insulated water proof winter coat (Finn Flare, Columbia brand. No Zara and Mango coats please), Warm or super warm Ski grade socks from Columbia, Jeans in combination with thermal pants (Leather pants are highly suitable and recommended), last but certainly not the least knee length warm boots (not fashion boots from Zara or Mango ,Mumbai/Delhi).

(If you want to know the best way to manage the right clothing before your travel comment below and I will help*). The Russian winter is not the kind where you can make do somehow..5 min outdoors wearing inadequate clothing is enough to make Very miserable. The winds are bone chilling. The cold is like you have never experienced before!

Winter sightings

4. Will 'Me in Russia in winter' feel like 'Leonardo de Caprio in The Revenant'? Nope! Russia in winter looks like a bride. Like the Russians would say "KRACIVI" means BEAUTIFUL!! It feels like Christmas all through December and January.

A) There is a lot of indoor fun to engage in, Tickets for musicals and theatre performances can be booked at Kassir.ru.

B) Walk around and visit the Christmas Markets to savor some soul warming treats.

C) Witness the stunning beauty that the city metamorphoses into.

D) River cruises in St Petersburg shut down during the peak winter. However, the Radisson cruise in Moscow remains active.

E) The off season doesn't inherently mean a winter freeze. September - Early November will be sunny (not warm) and clear.

F) Engage in experiences unique to such environments like sledging, outdoor ice skating rinks, the Russian Banya.

G) The parks that are normal places of recreation during the summer completely turn over a new leaf in the freezing winters.

In conclusion investing in good winter clothing will be a great money saver considering that they will be with you in the long run. You can see the countries in the northern hemisphere at a time when they are actually supposed to be seen. Be cozy when you step out, I have seen Indian tourists in their woolen gloves, sweaters, jackets and shoes (sports shoes) that are inadequately warm for such winters maybe they keep you afloat during Delhi winters.

It's sad to see people spend money on accommodation and transport and not on proper clothing. You will literally not need to book taxis if you would be dressed appropriately.

So come one come all, and fall in love with Russia and its winter!

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