What It's Really Like Living In Siberia

Posted by Beatrice Clogston on Friday, May 17, 2024

There are a lot of places in the world where someone might just run out, hop in the car, start it up, and drive away. Siberia's extreme cold makes that pretty much impossible.

Russia Beyond looked at just how people in Siberia deal with transportation — and namely, cars — in the winter months, and it's made even more difficult by the fact that even in major cities like Yakutsk, there's no such thing as underground, heated parking garages: the permafrost makes that impossible. Even ground-level garages are rare, so that means most people park their cars on the streets.

Some, they say, simply remove the car's battery, leave it parked until spring, and take public transportation in the meantime. Fortunately, they add that bus stops are super nice, and they're usually heated buildings complete with things like Wi-Fi, televisions, and recharging stations.

Others opt for hooking their cars up to parking heaters, which are plugged in and switched on about an hour before they'll need the car, and, well, it should start. Blankets — that cover just the engine or the entire car — are also common, but some car owners go for an even more drastic solution. They start their car in the autumn, and let it run until spring. Seriously!

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