Celebrations in -50°C and crowded beaches: how different regions of Russia welcomed the New Year. Photos included.

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The New Year was celebrated from the Far East to Kaliningrad.

Photo: DIANA IVANOVA. Go to the KP Photo Bank

Russia welcomed the year 2025. From the Far East to Kaliningrad, across all 11 time zones, congratulations and well-wishes resounded. Some celebrated in the freezing cold of minus 50 degrees, while others rushed to the beaches. Let’s take a look at how the holiday was marked in different regions of our vast country.

New Year in the “oil” headquarters of Anapa

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Oil cleanup continues without a break for the holidays.

On the coast of the Krasnodar region, hundreds of volunteers are working – cleaning up the oil spill left after the sinking of two tankers in the Kerch Strait. The only break is for a couple of hours to celebrate the New Year, and then it’s back to work.

- We are not taking a holiday. We will only pause from 3 PM on December 31, and on January 1, we will be back at it by noon, - the team says.

The work of volunteers around the world is regarded not only as an example of remarkable responsiveness but also of self-organization.

- Actually, we thought that no one would show up today. But people are coming, just like they have all these days! It’s an amazing unity. Thank you all! - says Andrey, the coordinator of the volunteer headquarters.

Full houses on New Year’s beaches in Sochi and beauty in Crimea

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Sochi welcomed over 100,000 guests on New Year’s Eve

Photo: OLEG UMAROV. Go to the KP Photo Bank

The streets of the Krasnodar resort are hot: up to plus 10 in the shade, over 20 in the sun. Locals don’t even dream of snow, and neither do tourists. There are over 120,000 visitors here. Another 380 are expected to arrive soon. Almost half of them will stay for just one day, without an overnight stay.

The hottest spots in Sochi are the winter beaches. They are packed. Sun loungers are claimed at dawn, and by noon, even regular spots disappear. Some are sunbathing, while others are closing the swimming season: the water temperature allows for it – plus 12 degrees.

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All sun loungers have been taken at the beaches.

Photo: OLEG UMAROV. Go to the KP Photo Bank

The New Year’s markets are also crowded. They sell everything: from hot drinks to souvenirs, home goods, and sweets. Everything is handmade, often made in a single copy in Kuban.

The city is adorned with over 90 art installations. Most of them are in the center (45), with another 26 in Adler. Thus, Santa Claus with reindeer appeared on the streets of Chernomorskaya and Kurortny avenues.

Simferopol is also welcoming the New Year celebrations in all their glory. Yes, there is no snow, and none is expected in the coming days, but the city has a real “winter” atmosphere.

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In Crimea, real Santa Clauses are still around.

Photo: VITALY PARUBOV. Go to the KP Photo Bank

Celebrations in minus 50 degrees

The severe frost did not stop the residents of Yakutsk from celebrating the New Year. People strolled through the city center, taking photos. On New Year’s Eve, the temperature outside was minus 53 degrees. Emergency and utility services in the city are on high alert.

Sledding in Khabarovsk and banned fireworks in Krasnoyarsk

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Ice beauty in Krasnoyarsk.

Photo: DIANA IVANOVA. Go to the KP Photo Bank

Krasnoyarsk celebrated the year 2025 festively and brightly, despite some restrictions. The ban on fireworks imposed by the governor became one of the most discussed topics in the city. Nevertheless, lights from fireworks could still be seen in the sky, as residents launched them in different areas of the city. Fines and restrictions did not deter those who decided to welcome the holiday with bright flashes.

Tatyshov Island became one of the main spots for New Year celebrations. The ice town, with beautiful figures, festive illumination, and a spacious ice rink, operated all night, creating a true New Year’s fairy tale.

People skated, took photos, and enjoyed the music and festive decorations.

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In Khabarovsk, it warmed up for the New Year - to minus 18 degrees.

Photo: ANTON MELNICHUK. Go to the KP Photo Bank

In Khabarovsk, residents also poured into the streets – before the New Year, a parade of fairy tale characters took place, and in the evening, they took photos near installations and went sledding. The weather was favorable for the residents: the region experienced a warm spell, with temperatures not dropping below minus 18 degrees.

Made it in the Year of the Family

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Dmitry Kornushkov marked the end of the Year of the Family in a significant way. Photo: screenshot from the video of the Ministry of Emergency Situations

In Primorsky Krai, an EMERCOM employee proposed to his girlfriend to the sounds of fire truck sirens and applause. Dmitry Kornushkov from Spassk-Dalny decided to pop the question in an unusual way. He got down on one knee when Sofia came out of her house, and amid the applause of colleagues and the sounds of fire truck sirens, he presented her with a ring. The girl said yes.

This is how touching the young couple wrapped up the past Year of the Family.

A schoolboy from Gorlovka tried on Santa Claus’s costume

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The schoolboy congratulated the adults who would be working on New Year’s Eve.

A nationwide action “Movements of the First” - “Russian Children’s Santa Claus” took place in the DPR. The frontline areas were no exception. In Gorlovka, schoolboy Andrey Tabak congratulated adults who would be on duty on New Year’s Eve while dressed as Santa Claus. Together with his team, he extended warm wishes to firefighters, medics, soldiers, gas station workers, shopkeepers, public transport drivers, and traffic police officers. They had prepared a bag of candies for them.

- Our city is still under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, there is not a single safe route, and at any moment, you can encounter an enemy drone. I drove the participants of the “Russian Children’s Santa Claus” action in my car. We were received with enthusiasm! Passing buses, trolleybuses, and cars were honking. Both children and adults ran up to us to take photos, - comments Daniil Karabaev, a specialist in organizing work in the Gorlovka urban district for the “Movements of the First” in the DPR, to “KP Donetsk”.

BARs-32 soldiers congratulated residents of the Zaporizhzhia region

Military personnel from the BARs-32 detachment of the Dnipro group congratulated