'And I only left my car for 5 minutes....!'

It's now dark all day in Norilsk where locals are coping with the 'polar night', lasting in this northern latitude more than six weeks.

But there are plenty of challenges - and fun - in this remote industrial city.

One man says he left his car for just five minutes only to find its front entirely buried in drifting snow during a blizzard.

A video shows him clearing the powdery new fall so he can drive away again.

Others found their vehicles entirely covered by the fresh cover.

One woman shows a picture of a snowed up path to an ATM. "Cryo-fitness at its best", she calls it.

Drivers find that turns they know are in the road have suddenly vanished under the white blanket.

Snowdrifts were so high they reached the second floor of blocks of flats.

Cars in many parking lots totally vanished under the deep falls.

There were reports that the city's snowploughs were unable to cope with the extraordinary falls from Friday night, and roads to neighbouring towns were blocked.

But people enjoyed the snow, too, throwing themselves into the virgin snow.