The residents of Moscow aren't exactly strangers to snow—but the latest snowstorm was so big that authorities gave schoolchildren the first snow day anyone can remember. The recent snowfall was the heaviest on record, with Saturday's 15 inches breaking a record set in 1957, the BBC reports. More than 2,000 trees have fallen across Moscow, air travel has been severely disrupted, and the military has been called in to assist in at least one district where local services were overwhelmed, CNN reports. Still, many residents say they're happy to see a "real Russian winter" again after record-breakingly warm winter temperatures and early thaws in recent years.
A total of 22 inches fell by Monday morning, meaning more snow fell on the city over the weekend as does in a typical month in winter. Late Sunday, the mayor told people to stay off the roads and gave children the day off from school. The move was intended to keep the roads clear, but it caused some to complain that children must be getting soft, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Goodness, Moscow mayor has allowed children not to attend school tomorrow because of the continuing snowfall," tweeted Russian journalist Leonid Ragozin, a Berlin resident. "I went to school and university in Moscow and never had that. Snowfall is the most ridiculous excuse to miss school. Something is very wrong with this world." (More Moscow stories.)
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