Well we just hit -10 Celsius today with about 10 to 20 knot gusts of icy air. Russia has the most radical shifts in weather I have ever seen in my life and I have been to more then a few places.. Just yesterday it was almost t-shirt and jacket weather but not today..
One day we can have great sunshine and the next day we can have cold rain or snow and it cycles through these patterns very quickly either in the Autumn or the Spring. In any case I’m expecting this to go up and down some more and then bottom out somewhere between -35C to -40C especially during Jan and Feb.
The locals say that a REAL SIBERIAN MAN never complains about the weather.. He just dresses appropriately.. how true this is..
Anyways for you intrepid souls who will literally go through hell and high water to find your Princess.. this is how I recommend you prepare for your trip especially if you come between the months of November to March and if you are going to go “sight seeing” or stroll around town for any length of time.
So if you were buck naked this is the sequence of clothes you need to put on.
Start with a good pair of long-john thermal underwear and a thermal long-sleeve under-shirt.
When you have those two items on.. go ahead and put your normal slacks or jeans on. along with a normal leather belt.
I also have a mobile phone nylon case holder that slips on to my belt. Very handy to have when you are in doors and need to stow away your mobile which is an absolute necessity to have here no matter how short your stay is.
Wear a nice heavy duty “out-door” long sleeve shirt.. preferably one with metal snaps as opposed to buttons… the buttons wear out quickly here and fall off and the snaps allow you to rip your shirt off in a hurry if you get too warm while you are indoors..
Next put on two pairs of outdoor camping thermal socks.. tuck the pant legs of your thermal Long-Johns into your socks so that its easier to get your boots on. By the way..you need two socks not because of the cold but because it will help cushion your feet with the heavy boots you will wear..
Next.. put on a nice pair of Farmer John style ski pants with suspenders. They should be high enough to cover as much of your chest as possible.
Your boots.. get something like a good pair of Timberland hiking boots with think hard rubber soles and deep tread patterns. When you start walking on frozen and polished ice on the streets you will really appreciate this.
Also when you walk on ice.. slide your feet forward one after the other as if you were roller or ice skating.. do not lift your feet or else you will find out very quickly how fun it is to go SPLAT on some extremely hard ice.. This is how most people in Russia end up with broken bones by the way..
Now a sweater at this point is optional and really depends on the type of jacket you get. If you have a normal stateside winter jacket without a hood you will need to wear a killer sweater along with a nice long wool scarf and serious head cover.. Personally I hate wearing sweaters because of the static building up in the dry weather that just makes my skin crawl..
So that’s why it’s a much better deal to get the killer Arctic Style Jacket instead..
This jacket in the states could easily cost you from $300 to $500 bucks but the same jacket here can be had for $150 because all the major manufacturers like Columbia want to make sure that their products are popular in a place like Siberia in order to help prove their brand… so they subsidize it and make it especially affordable for normal Russians..
In any case the Jacket is the most important piece..
The first thing you notice is that it is thick and makes you look like the Michelin Man from Space when you wear it.. that’s because it’s filled with fine down or thinsulate fibers.. It’s got the KILLER hood on it.. the same type of hood you see with the Alaskan Eskimos.. because it is lined with lose and stringy fur along the edges which wrap around your face and head.
I never understood why that was so useful until you get caught in a snow storm where the snow blows horizontally and parallel to the ground. The fur around your head helps to break up the snow and prevents it from flying straight into your face and freezing it in the process. Of course the downside is that you have total tunnel vision as you walk around and cannot see to the left or right but only straight ahead.. so if you cross any streets with this on.. be especially careful and look both ways a few times to make sure.
This jacket has big huge plastic or nylon zipper.. Do NOT get a jacket with metal zippers! They get frozen in this weather and jam very easily.. and if you can’t zip up your jacket in this extreme weather.. you are screwed..
This jacket will have HUGE and multiple pockets all over it.. probably about 4, 6 sometimes even 8 pockets on the outside along with extended plastic zipper grabs that allow you to zip them up and down with the thick gloves you will wear. These pockets will be very deep and some will have an inner mesh pocket as well so you can separate out various items.
Quite frankly get the best Jacket along these lines you can find because it’s worth it.. It feels like a bloody space suit when you put it on and makes you believe you are an astronaut exploring a distant frozen planet.. and besides it makes you feel and look “cool” too because you look like Mr. Adventure.
If you wear a watch.. don’t wear any of those LCD watches since the Liquid Crystal freezes and barely works in this temperature range.. just stick to a good old fashion mechanical watch and you will do just fine..
Now even with the killer jacket and the killer hood you will still need either a winter head cap or a good thick baseball cap to wear with it. I like the baseball cap because the duckbill holds the jacket hood up and allows me to see better all around.
Finally your gloves.. do not depend on cheap leather gloves.. get the hard core winter ski gloves with long plastic velcro straps on them which allow you to strap the glove down tightly or to take them off quickly… especially when someone comes to you outside to shake your hand. They must be long enough to completely cover your wrists because any exposed skin in this kind of freeze is not a very pleasant experience. Since my hands get cold easily I wear gloves that actually have a air vent in them that allows me to exhale my breath into them in order to circulate warm air to my fingers.
Now the funny thing about Russians is that they never wear ski-goggles or ski-glasses even when it’s really blowing.. so in order to not announce to the world that you are a foreigner I don’t recommend that you wear them because no matter how cold and nasty it gets no Russian person ever wears them. “When in Rome..”
So Speaking about Rome..
What I just described above will take care of you outdoors during the coldest months when the temperature drops anywhere below minus 20C.
However, In order to determine what level of clothes to wear during any time of the year.. just simply look outside your window to see what everyone else is wearing and you can’t go wrong.. If you follow my sequence on how to get dressed you should be able to get this down to getting ready within 5 minutes once you try it out a few times.
Now I don’t want any of you guys to freak out about the weather now that you’ve read this.. If you have the right clothes and come prepared you will have a very enjoyable time and this will be a great adventure.
In any case when you see large numbers of Russian Women walking around in incredibly beautiful full body Fur Coats and high heel winter boots you will be thankful that you had the opportunity to witness how these ladies can get along so well in this environment and STILL look so incredibly beautiful at the same time..
It is truly one of the wonders of this world..
And it will make you appreciate these ladies that much more..
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Sound advice Rw-Man, especially about avoiding the metal zippers in freezing cold. Freezing metal also has a way of bonding instantly to your skin too. I like long trench coats made from wool or military winter jackets with the hood. Those one piece insulated coveralls are also a Godsend when you have to stay outdoors in subzero temperatures. I also wear heavy boots and use the appropriate socks, and always wear a stocking cap on my head. In really cold weather, I use a baclavka and the stocking cap, plus the jacket with a hood. Because I am an amatuer astronomer, I know all about how to keep warm, and more importantly, how not to LOL. When you’re sitting at the eyepiece of a telescope and it’s 0 degrees outside, you’s better take extra care to protect your extremities or you won’t last long out there. Cold weather does bring the clearest, darkest skies even though turblence is a problem for sharp views. However, when you’re looking for things that are fuzzy anyway such as large but dim galaxies, cold and clear weather is the time to see them. Thanks for sharing your experiences. But from what I can see, the best way to warm up a frigid Siberian evening is spending it with a lovely lady…….:-)
Taras
Excellent post for the newbies thinking about going to Russia.
I would recommend a purchase that is not clothing related. For those long winters, purchase a Vitamin D lamp with the proper outlet converters. 15 minutes of soaking in the light will help improve your mood and fight off depression or any cabin fever mood swings.
One of the lasting images of mine was seeing a beautiful Russian woman sitting in a park reading her book on a calm winter day.
Wow now thats cold. Here in So. Cal. I can still wear shorts and a jacket when its 30 degrees out. (Smile) I must say my coming to Russia has been a 2 year project and in May 2007 I will start my adventure. I guess I will Have to do some shopping there.
Thanks GL for this site
Respectfully, David
Ha! I was in San Diego today! It was so warm that I regretted wearing long pants instead of shorts….
The Thermals come in 3 or 4 “weights” What would you recommend to that one doesn’t out in HEAVYS and them come inside somewhere else where I can not SHED them or the trick the FARMER JOHNS?
I Jack
(funny, this is the way my lady in Ulan Ude signs her emails, of course with some other nice thoughts)
Hi Joe, I know those lamps used to be popular here during Soviet Times.. but tanning salons are now all the rage especially during the winter. I’ve tried it and I can see why they are so popular when you haven’t seen the sun for a while.
Hi Jack, to be quite honest with you I really didn’t consider what weight my thermals were when I bought them.. but when I just looked the label on my Long Johns it says Class 1, Type 1.. Don’t know exactly what that means but they work well.. thanks for joining us!
BTW today was t-shirt and jacket day because the temperature was at +7C so like I said above.. the weather shifts very widely here in a heartbeat.
Hey Taras,
Way cool that you are a star gazer.. always wanted to do that when I was younger as well.. actually fantasized when I was a boy of having my own backyard observatory and actually went to the local library to find books on how to make your own Newtonian Mirror’d Scope along with a shed that has slide off roof.
Never got around to doing that yet.. but I’ve decided to prioritize gazing at a different type of stars all together for now
RW_man,
BTW, I love the site. Now back to clothing. I will check the rating on the Longies and I will purchase the farmer Johns I plan to use for my top gear a North Face “system” set up. The outer is breathable hi tech fabric and water and wind proof. I can then zip in either a 700 down power vest “NUpste?) or a full jacket of the same fill. For head gear I plan to use a Shapka. I now have all of this except the farmer johns and long johns. Do you thing that will work in March?
Jack
Oppppppps forgot, I am going to Ulan Ude.
Gentlemen,
You might want to look at the two following sites for clothing. Good quality and low cost
http://www.campmor.com
http://www.cabelas.com
I got my Northface gear from campmor and other things from cabelas.
Jack
Thanks Jack,
For March what you are talking about might be overkill.. but what I would do is to go find some online almanac on temperatures for Ulan Ude to see what the range of temperatures are like in March.. If it’s 15c below zero or more then what you are talking about is appropriate. Good Luck!
Leather Gloves and Jackets
If it’s not humid, -25C isn’t really anything I would worry about. I grew up with winters like that. -45 C was comon, and I had to feed and put out straw for bedding the cattle. I can deal with cold better than heat.
Excuse me for breaking in on this male conversation, but I wish someone would write the same type of information for how a professional woman should dress for a Siberian winter. I understand that all those fabulous Russian ladies are wearing long fur coats and high heeled boots, but what’s an American professor supposed to wear to keep warm and not look like the Michelin tire boy this winter? If you have any information about brands of boots that the Siberian ladies recommend, I’d appreciate it.
Vivian,
I have no answers, but having just spent much of the day trying to find a good winter coat in St Petersburg I would also like to appeal for some help (Mascha, where are you?)!
The fur coats are gorgeous and so soft to touch but I can’t justify spending so much money on them when I could never wear them in London (for two reasons: one because they’re too warm and two because I would get paint thrown on me…)
So any advice from lurking Russian women would be gratefully received. While we’re on the subject, how on earth do you walk all day in those heels? Ow!
VG
What is all this stuff I’m hearing about everybody throwing paint on everybody else’s fur coats?
My mom hasn’t had anybody throw any paint on any of her fur coats. And my dad hasn’t had anybody throw any paint on the fur hat that he has. And I haven’t heard of it happening either here in rural Ohio where I’m at now, nor in Michigan where my parents’ house is where I live during college breaks.
Maybe it’s just something that happens in the really eco-fascist part of the country.
Luke, the city mentioned was London.
Ok, maybe I should have used the word “world”, rather than “country”.
Animal rights are a big deal in the UK. You might remember the furore over the ban on fox hunting?
A friend of mine took his kids to Harrods (department store in London) last weekend to see Santa Claus. When they came out there was a group of anti-fur protestors waving placards with pictures of mutilated animals. His children (age 3 and 5) became quite upset — and their father was still visibly angry when he told me about it a few days later.
What I have never understood is why leather does not provoke the same disgust.
I don’t get it. Did the department store sell fur? Did the department store Santa’s outfit have fur in it or something?
I’m not sure of the details. It might have been that they just chose a crowded place to protest. But yes, Harrods does sell a lot of fur. It is the store of choice for the wives of all the Russian millionaires who have relocated to London!
Ouch! Just imagined someone in Farmer Jones over slacks )))
From the Roman point… (there’ve been many -30C winters in Kiev, and I also visited Moscow at -45… absolutely no reason to neglect elegance…)
Cotton or hi-tech ski underwear (wool & lycra tights for women).
Wool (e.g. tweed) trousers, straight (neither snug nor loose).
Thin pullover or thick shirt, of natural fiber.
Sweater and scarf of thick loose-knit wool (wool / tweed blazer instead of sweater for business style, corduroy would be more casual… education allows informality like sweaters).
Sheepskin or leather coat with sheepskin underlay (mid-thigh to knee-long, often with a hood, especially in female models) or wool coat, trenchcoat (mid-thigh to full-long, thick cloth – possibly with furry surface, modest sintapone underlay). If you want high quality for low price, take cashmere or lama at a Ukrainian factory’s shop, – it’s made by European technology & design, and retained from European outsourcers that resell the major lot by European brands and prices, – rather than one of those Chinese-counterfeit world-brand down-pillows overwhelming the FSU market.
Leather boots & gloves with fur inside (options for gloves: double woolen mittens, or gloves with thick knit underlay – available at every street market or haberdashery shop).
High heels on ice – to any practical woman, this is sheer bungee-jumping. Locally, the “Intertop” chain sells safe footwear, like “Ecco” and others (for both sexes).
For your amusement: Soviet-time folks stuck woven plaster or emery paper to the soles. )
To crown it all, the headware outlets at streets and stores offer sheepskin or lined woolen caps with bend-downs for ears and neck (casual to adventure style), accurate mink shapkas (business style) for men, and a dazzling variety of fur hats for women.
And a big pharmacy / cosmetic store would offer you some skin defense.
Sincerely,
Comrade Natalia
Positively amazing! It seems as if you enjoy the dressing up for cold weather! Thank you for the tips – I know Bucharest is not as cold as cities in Russia in wintertime, but when we visit in that season, it’s good to know what works.
(From the Article)
Yeah, but I do a lot of things that no other American people do, and I’m American…
In Michigan it’s gotten very very cold at times, too. Especially in the northern part of the state. Probably not as cold and windy as Siberia, but I’ve seen it get down to -50 degrees F (about -45.55 degrees C) before with a lot of wind too. I know that sounds unbelievable, but it happened when I was in first or second grade and I saw it right there on the thermometer. And it wasn’t a junk thermometer either. It was a really good electronic thermometer.
Anyway, no, I don’t remember seeing anyone wearing goggles in that weather, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody walking down the street wearing goggles in the winter.
But even if there were to be a person who was walking down the street with goggles in frigid windy weather, nobody would hold that against them. Not in Michigan, not in Ohio, not in Canada, not anywhere that I’ve been.
I don’t even think that they would automatically assume that the person is a foreigner. The person might be someone who has an eye condition, or just really doesn’t like wind.
And if America is supposed to be the “superficial, materialistic” nation and Russia is supposed to be the “unsuperficial, unmaterialistic” nation, then surely if people in the “superficial, materialistic” nation can look past the fact that a person decides to wear ski goggles, then logically I’d expect the same or better out of people in the “unsuperficial, unmaterialistic” nation.
Luke,
Russia is most definitely NOT an ‘unsuperficial, unmaterialistic’ nation. No way. In fact I would say modern Russia is among the MOST materialistic cultures. I work in Moscow in a team of Russian men, and their primary concerns are to make money and buy expensive cars and houses. They’re already very wealthy by Russian standards, but they want more. They have little sense of any other way to improve their lives other than through earning more and spending more.
As for Russian women, they are generally obsessed with owning fashionable possessions like fur coats and handbags. This is especially true in Moscow. There is a joke in which two Russian women meet and compare fur coats. “London, £1000″, one of them says. The other sniffs, “Moscow, £1500!”
I think a high degree of materialism naturally follow from Russian women always being so groomed. In order to look like that, you MUST spend a lot of time and a good proportion of your income on your appearance. Manicures, pedicures, haircuts, shopping, shaving, waxing, plucking, putting on mascara, lipstick, lipliner, foundation, setting powder, eyeshadow, eyebrow gel, eyebrow pencil, hairspray, hair serum… Get the picture? Not to mention that long hair takes ages to blowdry and, especially in winter, demands a lot more upkeep than normal. I won’t detail all the steps involved with keeping long hair sleek in winter.
Keeping up Russian female grooming standards demands a lot of effort every single day. I know the men of this website really appreciate the final result. BUT, if you want women to be very groomed you do have to acccept the consequences: it does mean a large amount of every day has to be spent on activities I would call very materialistic.
Probably just a big city phenomenon.
Major commercial centres like Moscow will always be like that.
It’s by no means a big city phenomenon.
Russian women outside Moscow expend just as much effort on their appearance each day.
Ffs VisitingGirl I meant things like this:
“London, £1000″, one of them says. The other sniffs, “Moscow, £1500!”
Outside of large cities they can’t afford such things.
There is a huge difference betw. obnoxious materialism and a desire to be well groomed.
[...] More topical discussion here [...]
Natalia, I hope women in Russia don’t wear high heels on slippery ice. I’ve lived in regions of the U.S. where ice storms occur and leave incredibly slick sheets of ice everywhere. High heels on ice is a good way for a woman to shatter bones in her leg(s) and end up in a wheelchair for months.
Taras
Taras, 99% of our streets are never cleaned. Nevertheless many women keep playing equilibrists on tiptoes! But with the regard they give to public opinion, many extremes of Russian fashion fade away at the sight of rational composure in a Western neighborhood. Who would want to be rolled eyes at.
VisitingGirl is completely right. I have seen exactly the same in Russia (Moscow). I am now living in London. People here are also very materialistic, but in now way as extreme as in Russia. It is not just a major city phenomenon. Its a Russian phenomenon, of post-communism, where a couple people got VERY rich, and the majority of others are killing themselves to make money too.
Russian women are very well groomed, that is true. Sometimes, when I was going in the Moscow underground, I felt like in a fashion show. hehe. Every girl around me was wearing full make up and heels. Even in the rain/cold. Many girls spend hours doing their hair, make up, etc. EVERY DAY. Obviously, the result is great for you men. But yes, it takes a lot of time and effort out of every day. Think about the consequences to you. You have to be careful to find a girl who isn’t obsessed.
I had a friend, who was with a Russian girl. He loved the way she looked. But after a while, he started complaining to me “She spends over an hour doing only her hair every single morning. This is maddness.” And wherever they would go, she would take out her make up kit and re-apply everything on an hourly basis, slowing every day actions down. He complained they often came late to meetings and stuff because of her. I am sure there are women like this in the US as well. But there are definitely many more of them % wise in Russia. Its a traditional thing. Which is nice. But yeah. Unfortunetly time consuming.
There are women like this everywhere- but it does sound like in Russia a bit more …
AS a woman visiting Russia in January, I have a lot of ski clothes, so wondering how much of them I can repurpose… I know it’s not urban museum-walking wear, but still!
- silk long underwear
- long cashmere full length formal coat (no hood)
- wool hats / wool scarves
- 3 sets of down mittens, gloves
- hiking boots (may have to invest in lined boots- do in moscow or here?
thanks all! great post & thread!
Hi Anna,
Everything is OK except for your coat.
When the icy.. and I do mean icy wind starts to blow it will instantly point out what part of your body is exposed. And in your case that will be your face, cheaks and ears. A jacket with a serious hood on it like I described in this post is a must have item for a Siberian Winter.
Here are some pictures to get an idea what you should be wearing.
http://russianwomentruth.com/images/photos-5/
http://russianwomentruth.com/images/photos-8/
http://russianwomentruth.com/2007/12/11/a-request-for-anna-pics-photos-29/
When you get into Russia have a local take you shopping at one of the many fur stores that they will have in your city.
Russia is the best market in the world for fur coats and you will certainly be able to find a bargin with a little effort.
Nothing in the world protects a woman in the winter like a fur coat as illustrated in the photos.
Good Luck!
GL