While Britain was paralysed by 15cm of snow, Russia was today working normally. People travelling to offices and schools encountered no serious problems – despite the fact residents in Moscow woke up to -24C temperatures.
On the streets, commuters muffled in large hats and fur coats strolled along the icy pavements. Moscow's major airports functioned without delay. The metro worked. All of this raises the obvious question: why are the Brits so hopelessly inept when it comes to a bit of a chill?
Tourists and locals conceded that it was a bit parky in Moscow, but said this was no reason for the country to collapse. "Most of my body is fine. But your face just freezes up," said Frederick Bernas, a 21-year-old student at Bristol University, studying Russian in Moscow.
He added: "If you don't talk for a while it is quite hard to pronounce things. Your mouth basically freezes."
Asked why Britain was unable to deal with milder conditions, he said: "We have a culture [in Britain] of people liking to moan."
Russians, of course, are used to snow. Typically, it snows in Moscow from late October. It carries on snowing until March or April. It's even been known to snow in May. Spectators watching the traditional Soviet Union victory parade on 1 May sometimes watched nuclear missiles roll past with snow on them.
This year, after an unusually tropical November and December, Russia is at last experiencing a real winter, with translucent blue skies and very low temperatures – the "magical days of frost and sunshine" evocatively described by Pushkin. Some weather experts say there is worse to come. They predict -38C for Moscow by the weekend.
"There is a cold front across Moscow, with falling temperatures. The temperature in some parts of Russia will sink to -48C, or even -50C. But this won't happen in Moscow. We expect this in Siberia," said Roman Vilfand, from Russia's national weather centre.
Moscow's pro-Kremlin mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, may not be a democrat, but he appears to know a thing or two about street-cleaning. The Russian capital has an army of snowploughs and snow-trucks – not to mention thousands of dvorniki, or street-cleaners, employed to clear snow from pavements and communal courtyards.
The authorities have recently brought in state-of-the art snow-melting trucks. The trucks efficiently reduce mountains of snow into water and then pour the grimy liquid into the Moscow river. It may not be ecological and would probably appal Europeans, but it works.
Russian drivers, meanwhile, use a pre-heating system that allows them to switch on their cars remotely. You do this when you get up in the morning. This means by the time you slide into the driver's seat, the engine is on, the car de-iced, and your seat warmed. And voila! You get to work on time.
The system isn't perfect. Locals grumble about the noxious detergents sprayed on to Moscow's streets. The capital's traffic is terrible – snow or no snow – meaning long delays throughout the year.
While most schools were open this morning, a few did close. Pupils at Moscow's British International junior school were sent home early after the heating system packed up. Pupils are normally sent out to play in the snow during breaktime unless it's cold. That means below -15C.