A woman who grew up in one of the coldest places on Earth—where the temperature drops to as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit), and where food, when kept outside, freezes solid—has shared her experience.
Yulia Lytkina, 35, was raised in the Sakha Republic in the east of Russia, where water freezes before it even hits the ground.
Also known as Yakutia, the winters are so cold there that natives have to wear special clothes, boots, and jackets to survive.
They wear warm coats packed with down and unique Yakutian boots called “untuu”, which are made of reindeer fur and thick felt. Additionally, they wear a traditional fur hat to keep their heads warm.
“The most essential thing is shoes, you have to buy these specific ones, other boots or brands are never enough,” Ms. Lytkina said. “We only have one coat, one pair of boots, and one hat for the whole winter—because the whole outfit will cost nearly 113,000 Russian rubles [$1,270].”
Ms. Lytkina, who is a graphic designer and photographer, moved to Auckland, New Zealand, in 2020 for work.
“Growing up, I never knew Yakutia was the coldest place, I just thought it was the normal conditions of life,” she said. “But when I grew up, I started traveling and visited other places in Russia and watched movies and realized it’s pretty uncommon.”
During the winter, Ms. Lytkina said, car owners cover their vehicles with special sheeting and have to auto-start the engines every two hours to prevent the car from freezing overnight.
In her hometown, rivers become roads in winter because they freeze over completely, and people turn off their freezers because their food stays frozen if it’s left outside.
But, despite the extreme weather, Ms. Lytkina said the beauty of the region makes it all worth it. Additionally, the weather also makes the inhabitants more resilient.
Although they experience an extreme winter, they don’t need to use heating all year round as the summer is pretty warm, and the temperatures can reach a balmy 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
At times when the temperatures are low, they have a big power station to provide heating and electricity to all homes in the city, but some people choose to use gas heating or fireplaces as well.
Additionally, during the winter, many people choose not to own cars at all because it’s quite expensive to maintain them in the cold.
Some people have a heated garage, but most don’t as keeping the garage warm “costs more than the car,” according to Ms. Lytkina.
To get around, people mostly use public transport or taxis during the winter and boats in summer when the water isn’t frozen.
Meanwhile, during the spring and autumn months, the ice is partially melted, making getting around difficult.
“In those months, we’re not allowed to cross the river because it may have started melting and not be thick enough,” Ms. Lytkina said.
Ms. Lytkina’s retired mother, Olga Rumiantseva, 53, and younger sister, Anastasia Rumiantseva, 16, still live in Yakutia and shop at small nearby stores for daily essentials like food, but if they need to see a doctor or a specialist they have no choice but to travel to the capital, Yakutsk.
“Sometimes it can be problematic then—or if they need to go to the airport to travel, they must cross the river,” she said.
Although it’s possible to cross the rivers when they’re only partially frozen, Ms. Lytkina said it’s quite expensive.
Despite all the challenges, Ms. Lytkina still loves her home and says growing up in such harsh conditions has only made her stronger as a person.
“I grew up experiencing all the ranges of seasons and temperatures,” she said. “I love how that environment developed my personality, being stress resilient, patient, hardworking, and creative.”
