Photographer Page

Steeve Iuncker

Iuncker noticed that locals tended to visit one another a lot, but for only a few minutes: “They would come in, take off their first layer, drink hot tea, and have a toast with jam before bundling up again and stepping outside. It was as if their neighbors’ abodes served as relay points along their journey.”

A statue of Lenin keeps watch over the empty Lenin square.

Small restaurants offer a brief respite from the cold.

Grocery stores offer a splash of color in this otherwise black-and-white city.

A Ferris wheel lies dormant, in wait of warmer days.

A woman is bundled up against the cold inside a bus.

A traditional Siberian wooden house is juxtaposed against newer construction. Despite the cold, the economy is robust—local mines account for about a fifth of the world’s production of diamonds, while others sites hold natural gas, oil, gold, silver, and other sought-after minerals.

Thick, icy fog shrouds the city.

In Yakutsk, outings are carefully planned. "Public transport is one of the few places people gather," says Iuncker.

There is no problem with keeping fish frozen in this outdoor market, where fish are displayed like bunches of flowers.