The real ‘Beast from the East’ - early Spring scenes from Siberia

Countries from Britain to Italy have been hit by unseasonably cold weather accompanied by heavy snow - widely dubbed the 'Beast from the East' and blamed on ‘a storm front sweeping down from Russia’ as The Times of London puts it.

Recently our reporters have been in demand from TV and radio in Europe asking how to cope with the extreme cold. 

Meanwhile, with Spring officially underway from 1 March, Russians too are dealing with heavy snow. 

In Sakhalin, passengers had to disembark their bus to push it out of a snow drift caused by local blizzards. 

Natalia Sivokon, from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, told us: 'Everyone is in skiing outfits today. 

'Clever, as eyewear protects half of the face and even keeps make up in place by the time you reach you workplace!'

Here schools are shut, and public transport is struggling to cope. 

But in Yakutsk, colder than anywhere in Europe at -27C, all schools remain open. 

In the Arctic city of Norilsk, workers building a mine ventilation shaft got stuck by snowdrifts in a bus on their way home from work.

A blizzard with zero visibility meant there was no way forwards or back. 

It took a 20 hour rescue operation to free the 38 men.

Winds in Norilsk are gusting at up to 20 metres per second, with temperatures at around -23C.

Some plants in the city have given their staff days off. 

Schools, however, are mainly continuing although students who have to move between districts are allowed to stay home. 

The airport, the only link to the outside world, remains open when possible.