It’s not cold in Russia

I see this misconception a lot. People think it’s cold in Russia, so people from Russia are cold-resistant. Some people are indeed more resistant to cold. And some of them were born in Russia. But it’s primarily due to the amount of body fat.

Now, why is it not cold in Russia? Because “cold” is what you feel. And, unlike the heat, you can balance almost any cold with proper clothing. I understand that a person who was born and lived their whole life in Texas might have never seen or had no skills for dressing properly for the cold winter. But I can offer you this thought experiment, that should give you a good idea.

Imagine having nice modern thermal underwear - both pants and a long-sleeved shirt. On top of that, you wear a pair of thick jeans and a warm flannel shirt. On top of that, you put snow bib overalls. Then, you wear a heavy winter coat that starts from your knees and has an oversized hood with long fur inside. Under the hood, you wear a wool hat that covers your ears well. Then, you cover your mouth with a wool scarf. Then you put on nice warm winter gloves, like the ones that make your iPhone inoperable. Wait. Before you put the gloves on, make sure you have socks, then thick wool socks on top, and high boots with a high sole and wool inside. If it’s freezing and windy outside, add skiing goggles.

Now, look at yourself. There’s no skin exposure, but if you just stay like this indoors for 5 minutes, you’ll be pretty sweaty. Do you think you’ll be cold outside? Do you think you’d even know what the temperature is outside? You won’t because there’s no way you can tell how cold the air is. Because you’re completely insulated from it.

Another thing about Russians is that they are much more faithful than cold resistance. We love heat. Many countries have no culture or appreciation of saunas, but virtually every Russian has been there more than once.