>

One thing I will point out is that there's a huge difference between -40 before the windchill and -50.  At -50 you need to heat propane tanks because the propane will gel.  At -50 the seat cushions in your car go rock solid.  I sent my friends a picture of power steering fluid I left outside at -50 once.....I literally had to squeeze the fluid out of the bottle like toothpaste.  Anyway, I know it's not abnormal for them but -50 is genuinely deadly stuff, it breaks everything man-made and it doesn't matter how tough you are....it'll freeze your ears or fingers off in a single digit number of minutes.
that bus looks interesting >

It’s a mashrutka, and they usually operate on similar routes to larger buses, but they’ll stop mostly anywhere you want them to along the route. >

That's actually kinda neat won't lie >

They’re definitely useful. It’s extra neat when you get a driver who’s taking money and giving change, chatting with the passenger next to them, and smoking all while driving lol. >

I thought it was Europe that was supposed to freeze this winter? >

I wish it would be colder because I don't like this muddy rainy weather 😥 >

Same here, for over a month it has been raining all day everyday in Sweden. Everyday I wake up to the same ugly rotten shit weather and ofc it constantly have to be windy outside too (I truely despise wind).
It's never nice to go outside anymore, if it was a bit colder we would have snow which makes everything so much comfy and beautiful.
Yet we have this moldy, muddy ass weather instead. But hey atleast we aren't struggling like Russia thought we would. >

I feel your pain. Where I live in Canada has been really similar this winter. We did get lots of snow two different times, then it warms up and rains, melting all of the snow.
We had a solid month of drizzle and gray skies and wind with no snow. >

You are experiencing a British winter by the sound of it >

No wonder I've been craving tea! >

At this temperature, even mercury is solid.
^(So how do they know what the temperature is) >

Afaik modern thermometers don’t use mercury anymore(but then again nothing is really modern in Russia). >

"Modern" .. circa 1980.  It's been out of fashion for a while. >

So basically Russia uses mercury thermometers, got it. >

They'll stop at -40° >

Fahrenheit or Celsius? >

yes!
(at that temperature, they're the same!) >

(I was trying to tee someone up for a “yes” but that works too) >

(is that better?) >

Temperatures like this aren't abnormal in Siberia. The record low in this city, Yakutsk, is - 64.4 C (-83.9F). >

Came here to say the same thing. It’s frequently -50C in the winter in Yakutsk, which is where the article is talking about. The average low is -40C in January. >

I wonder who said, "This seems like a really good place to build a city." >

If there were locals there already, he didn't establish the place. He basically invaded it.
The question was why were the locals living there >

A bunch of people trying to find somewhere to live where they weren't being actively slaughtered. A tale as old as time. >

How well are the buildings insulated for that or is that when you dump all your money into your furnace and pray? >

Somewhat insulated and heating are dirt cheap so you basically sweating indoors. But of course there are exceptions. >

Well, that's good thankfully. The coldest I've ever been in is only -30°F / -1°C. I pay about $1.75 per gallon / 38¢ per liter for propane. >

Coldest I’ve experienced was -19°C and it’s god awfully awesome, can’t go outside without looking like a burrito >

Yep exactly, it’s inhumane temperature, bad for your eyes skin even teeth can crack. >

I couldn’t stop feeling the horrible blizzard on my face even though my body had became a self induction heater, a slip in the cover and you’d feel the pain exactly right there, dehydration is terrible specially since you lose water (the urge is worse) but you don’t feel much thirst. >

Coldest I have been was -43C, sleeping outside in a tent. Finnish army 2015. >

Even outside of Siberia, eg on the Kola peninsula, schools don't close till it's below -40C. This isn't great, but it's not atypical.