00:00Have you ever truly felt cold? Not just a chill but a cold so fierce it burns your skin,
00:07freezes your breath in the air and turns every minute into a fight to stay alive.
00:12In Yakutsk winter temperatures drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius and sometimes even lower.
00:18Most people can barely survive a few minutes outdoors without protection and yet some have
00:23no choice. No roof, no warmth, nowhere to go. This is the story of Piotr, a homeless man surviving in
00:32one of the coldest cities on earth. Yakutsk is home to around 400,000 residents. Even with heated homes
00:43and warm clothing surviving in this climate is a big challenge but for the roughly 400 homeless
00:48people living here every winter is a battle for survival. Today is relatively warm, only minus 38
00:55degrees Celsius. For Piotr that means he can spend a little more time outside without risking frostbite.
01:03Piotr knows that clothing is his best defense against the cold.
01:07He wears as many layers as possible, bundling up in whatever he can find. Locals often donate jackets,
01:14pants, boots, whatever they can spare. His trousers are always too big, his jacket won't zip but every
01:21extra layer is a lifeline. Piotr is 42 years old. He was not always homeless. He grew up in a village
01:30with his family living a stable and decent life. His parents were working hard providing for their
01:36children but Piotr's path took a different turn. His childhood coincided with the 1990s,
01:43a time of severe economic crisis in Russia. The collapse of the Soviet Union changed everything.
01:49The country plunged into economic chaos, mass unemployment, financial ruin for many families.
01:56Inflation wiped out savings and for many young people like Piotr, the future felt uncertain.
02:02the country was a huge, huge devastating.
02:05There was noamps in the 1990s at the dawn of the year.
02:16There were some days earlier.
02:18There were some people who were living in the一直 of the year.
02:20All the people out there were no more.
02:22Many people out there were no more.
02:24They were like, oh I can't fight, I can't fight, I can't fight.
02:29I'm not going to die.
02:33I'm not going to die.
02:37I'm not going to die.
02:43Peter never made it to university.
02:45Instead, he found himself on the streets,
02:47lost to the harsh realities of life in the city.
02:50Over the years,
02:52countless people and social workers have tried to help him,
02:55offering him work, a place to stay, a chance to start over.
02:59But each time, after working for a few days,
03:02he disappears, choosing alcohol over stability.
03:21Now, he no longer wants to return to a normal life.
03:24He has accepted his fate,
03:26aware that he could have had a different future,
03:29but either unable or unwilling to change his path.
03:41Winter in Yakutsk is relentless.
03:43For a homeless person, it's a daily fight for survival.
03:46Peter knows this better than anyone.
03:48The temperature can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius,
03:51and on the coldest night, it reaches minus 64 degrees Celsius.
03:56In these extreme conditions,
03:57even a few minutes outside without proper clothing
04:00can be life-threatening.
04:02Yet, Peter has endured this life for years.
04:05Every night, he faces the coldest,
04:07most unforgiving city in the world,
04:09alone with no shelter.
04:11Peter drinks vodka every day,
04:13believing it keeps him warm.
04:14It numbs the pain,
04:15the pain,
04:16the pain,
04:17the pain,
04:18the pain,
04:19the pain,
04:20the pain,
04:21the pain,
04:22the pain.
04:23and makes the cold feel more bearable,
04:24at least for a while.
04:25But in reality,
04:26alcohol does the opposite.
04:27Many homeless people in Yakutsk do not survive the winter.
04:28But Peter does,
04:29because he has learned how to survive.
04:30During the coldest night,
04:31Peter drinks vodka every day, believing it keeps him warm.
04:40It numbs the pain, dulls the hunger, and makes the cold feel more bearable, at least for
04:46a while.
04:47But in reality, alcohol does the opposite.
04:50Many homeless people in Yakutsk do not survive the winter, but Peter does, because he has
04:55learned how to survive.
04:58During the coldest night, Peter hides in building entryways, curling up next to their radiator
05:03to stay warm.
05:05For most of the winter, he remains inside, avoiding the freezing cold outside.
05:09Hello.
05:10Hello.
05:11It's the most beautiful jacket on the planet.
05:15Is it cold?
05:17Cold.
05:18Cold.
05:19Cold.
05:20Cold in the morning.
05:29...
05:3012 years old.
05:30It's almost 30.
05:31How do you know exactly what you learned?
05:32Yep.
05:33So I've got tough hard.
05:34I've tried it very hard.
05:36I have one of the plausible dictatorships and was formed after the flu.
05:42It's funny.
05:47She takes a lot of money from her.
05:49It's about how
05:52she is actually interested in it.
05:53She can see the nature of this planet.
05:56Sometimes she can see the nature of this planet.
06:00So, please don't even look at the nature of this planet.
06:04I don't look at the nature of this planet.
06:06She's looks at the nature of this planet.
06:17In Yakutsk, there are shelters offering warmth, free meal, medical care, and even psychological
06:26support.
06:27But Petr rarely goes there.
06:29The shelters have rules, no drinking, no fight, and a structured daily routine.
06:34For someone like Petr, who has been living on the streets for nearly two decades, the
06:39freedom of his current lifestyle outweighs the comforts of a warm bed and regular meals.
06:45Honor has no stable source of food.
06:47He relies on the kindness of strangers.
06:50Sometimes a passerby gives him a warm meal or money.
06:53On lucky days, someone might offer something substantial, enough to get through the day.
06:58On unlucky days, hunger eats away at him, and he turns to alcohol to forget.
07:03But they also make food.
07:07Once they eat, they'll be cooked.
07:09The upper hand is a little.
07:09The more, the better, the more, the more, the more.
07:11There are two categories.
07:12The more, the more.
07:14The more.
07:15Of course, I am sad to you.
07:18First, if you know me, I'm not happy.
07:22I'm not happy.
07:23I am happy to know you and your family.
07:25The more this is true, you can get your love.
07:31What do you want to eat?
07:35Yes, I eat it.
07:38What?
07:39I eat it.
07:41I eat it.
07:43I eat it.
07:45I eat it.
07:47I eat it.
07:49I eat it.
07:51What do you want to eat?
08:09I eat it.
08:11I eat it.
08:13I eat it.
08:15I eat it.
08:17I eat it.
08:19I eat it.
08:21I eat it.
08:23I eat it.
08:25I eat it.
08:27I eat it.
08:29I eat it.
08:31At night, finding a warm place to sleep is a constant struggle.
08:35Most often, he spends his night in a temporary holding cell at the police station.
08:41In Yakutsk, officers often detain homeless people who are intoxicated, mostly to prevent
08:46them from freezing to death in the brutal cold.
08:49Peter is well known among the police.
08:51The officers let him stay until morning, knowing that out on the streets he might not survive
08:56the night.
08:58Some other nights, Peter preferred to sleep in the entryways of apartment buildings.
09:03In Yakutsk, all buildings are heated, including the hallways.
09:09Peter quietly sleeps into these buildings, always choosing ones where residents won't
09:14complain.
09:15He stays as silent as possible, trying not to be noticed.
09:19Many locals understand his situation and leave him alone.
09:23Some even leave food or blankets, knowing that a small act of kindness can mean the difference
09:29between life and death.
09:32But it's never guaranteed.
09:34Some nights, he is forced out, wandering these frozen streets, searching for another place
09:39to hide from the brutal cold.
09:41He knows the danger.
09:43If he falls asleep outside in the wrong place, he may never wake up.
09:49Despite everything, Peter has made peace with his life.
09:52The years on the street have numbed him to the possibility of change.
09:56He no longer dreams of a different future.
09:59Yet somehow, every morning, he wakes up and faces the cold again.
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