American Steve Lyunker visited one of the coldest cities in Russia – Yakutsk. He was so impressed by what he saw, never in my life forget this trip. Next, read and watch Steve’s experience of the city of Yakutsk.
Yakutsk – a city in eastern Siberia standing on the Lena River. As I see it, Yakutsk – the coldest city in the world. It is located at 1840 kilometers from Irkutsk in 5000 from Moscow. The city was founded in 1632 by the Cossacks, that imposed on residents of an imprint. And yet, despite the particularly difficult conditions of life in Yakutsk live about 270,000 people. In winter, temperatures here regularly drop to minus 40 ° (record was equal to -64 ° C), and summer temperatures often passes for 30.
Upon arrival at the airport of Yakutsk, I felt close attention to my appearance. Looked at me, as a “tourist” because I obviously was not dressed as anything. Yes, I clearly different from those of people who live here. I met the daughter of the man who invited me to visit. She came to pick me up, but the first thing she asked when she saw me if I have a hat and gloves. I was surprised at her concern, but …
… But once on the street, I immediately understood her concern. Even the fact that I thought might save me from the cold, it was clearly not enough … The city welcomed me dismal frosty fog, visibility because of which falls to 10 meters. Yakutsk is a major center for diamond mining, providing a fifth of the world production of precious minerals. The city is also an important center for food, leather and sawmill industry.
The soil near Yakutsk permanently frozen, making the construction of large buildings is very difficult and dangerous enterprise. I quickly discovered that photography is very dangerous. Clothing, fingers, and the technique freezes for fifteen seconds. A minute of photographing, I can not feel my fingers. My dear optics cracked after 10 minutes. The ubiquitous fog hides all landmarks, and you can easily get lost.
Absolutely everything here seems to consist of endless ice and snow. Want to know what emotions I was experiencing? These were the two emotions – despair and wonder. I felt like I was standing at the entrance to the ice hell, but on the other hand there were people alive, warm and genuine … I was impressed by these people … In my memory, there is one picture … Thermometer at the airport, which showed -48 ° C. I will not forget this …
Source: worldmagazine
Translation: Google
