Yakutsk's Ded Moroz on sauna invites, corpses, and children's wishes

The Yakutsk Ded Moroz (the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus) is not a fairytale character, but a hard worker in a quilted jacket worn on bare skin, who works the entire December like a shift worker in –40°C (–40°F) from early morning until late night. Our hero, Vladimir Gonoshenko, has been bringing joy to both children and adults for over 20 years, attending matinees, corporate parties, and visiting homes at the stroke of midnight, while often celebrating New Year«s himself on the road. Vladimir doesn»t have a Snow Maiden, but this year he got married. The man shared the most interesting (and creepy) adventures of a Ded Moroz in Yakutsk with 14.RU.

Vladimir was born in Yakutsk and will turn 41 in a month. He started working part-time as Ded Moroz 20 years ago with a Snow Maiden, but their schedules stopped matching, so they had to part ways. However, it didn«t get worse for Vladimir—orders increase every year. Perhaps because Vladimir is the most colorful Ded Moroz—two meters (6 ft 7 in) tall, with a magnificent costume, a luxurious white beard, and a fairytale bass voice. He»s even called Yakutsk«s first Ded Moroz. Vladimir assures that even adults believe in him. Everyone wants to see him at celebrations, and since early November, Yakutsk»s Ded Moroz has been active: starring in promo videos and ads for New Year«s sales, attending matinees, and planning his schedule for December 30 and 31. Ded Moroz also runs social media—he has over 1,200 friends on VKontakte.

The «Chimes Strike» rate

— Vladimir, how much does it cost to book you for New Year«s?

— This year I«ve raised prices a bit. First, I have a driver—because of rising gasoline costs, I have to pay him more. Second, I»ve updated my New Year«s accessories. And, of course, the economic situation in the country affects it: prices are rising for everything, and for Ded Moroz—too.

— Last year on December 31, a 15-minute performance at home was 4,000 rubles (about $44 at current rates). Is it even more expensive now?

— For me, 4,000 rubles (about $44) was the cheapest order, a morning one. The closer to midnight, the more expensive the order. This year I increased the price by about a thousand. Now it«s 5,000 rubles (about $56) for all home visits until the 31st. There»s a «Chimes Strike» rate—to walk in right at 12:00 a.m.—that costs 50,000 rubles (about $556). But say, at 11:30 p.m., it will cost ten thousand.

— So you can also come in when the chimes are striking?

— In theory, I could appear even in summer, and at any location. If the conditions are created, it makes no difference. I don«t limit myself in anything, I»m open to any formats. Only the client«s imagination is the limit.

— Do you only work as Ded Moroz in December?

— No, I posted an ad this year back in spring: «Ded Moroz—all year round». Creativity is in fashion now. You can invite Ded Moroz to a wedding, an anniversary, or something else like that. Also, on March 8 (International Women«s Day), Ded Moroz, like a courier, can bring a bouquet of roses to your beloved. But so far, this is a novelty for the Yakut mentality. I»ve had few such calls.

— People aren«t that progressive?

— Yes, we«re a bit frozen here. I»ve given flowers to beloveds twice. And once I came to the city beach for a child«s birthday in July.

«My mom sews my costume»

— It must be hard to work in the costume in summer. And in winter, do you wear a down jacket under it?

— No, my costume is sewn onto an ordinary Soviet telogreika (quilted jacket). And it«s on top, sort of, roughly speaking, sewn on like skin. And I wear the telogreika on bare skin.

— You mean on a T-shirt, probably?

— No, on bare skin. Otherwise it«s impossible. Because, for example, this evening I»ll be working in a large trading hall for about five hours. And not just standing there, but communicating with people, constantly on the move. If there was a down jacket under the costume, it would be a nightmare!

— And what do you have on the bottom then—underpants?

— No, not in underpants. I have cotton pants, of the Ded Moroz style, so to speak.

— Listen, in a shopping mall it«s okay. But outside, aren»t you cold?

— No, no. My costume is like camel wool: it«s cool in summer and warm in winter. Balanced. That is, I can easily spend 15–20 minutes outside.

— And where do you get such a costume?

— My costume isn«t rented, it»s my own—my mom sews it for me, she«s been a seamstress since she was young. The day before yesterday I went on a job, and an element of the decoration on my costume was catching on my beard. So I immediately went to my mom for adjustments. Roughly speaking, the residence—the very base of Ded Moroz—is not where I live now, but at my mom»s.

«I saw a corpse out of the corner of my eye…»

— Last year, when you were working, did everything go well? No strange stories happened to you?

— Well, there was one negative story. It turned out that I don«t go outside Yakutsk on the 31st—for logistical reasons, to avoid traffic jams, otherwise I could be late for the next order, and I don»t want to let anyone down.

And then a lady from Zhatay (a suburb of Yakutsk) called me and literally begged me to come to them. I agreed to do an early call—at 7 a.m. December 31 came, I arrive in Zhatay, don«t know the address—she only told me the building number and said someone would meet me. I call, but she doesn»t pick up, I text—no reply, even though she was recently online.

Having waited in vain, I texted her from the driver«s number, and she replied: »Who is this?« I say: »It was Ded Moroz, who came from afar specifically for you to Zhatay. You acted very irresponsibly.« And then so much negativity poured out towards me: »They always confirm the day before! It«s irresponsible on your part! What if the client lost the number? Don»t shift the blame! I«ll tell everyone you»re the worst Ded Moroz!«

— How sad…

— That«s the kind of person she turned out to be. I had to work the whole New Year with all that negativity. And the bad feeling stayed, it didn»t let go. Of course, it was unpleasant.

— Did anything good happen?

— Of course, there«s much more positive. Ten years ago I was still working with a Snow Maiden. We accepted a late order—the rate was about 15,000 rubles (about $167). We came, did the job, and the clients gave us 15,000 each. They also saw that we had a driver—they gave him another 15,000.

— Wow… where are such clients?

— In Yakutsk. Very pleasant people, apparently not in need of anything, judging by the furnishings of where they lived.

It was a private house with a large territory. That is, the gates open and you drive not onto someone«s plot, but into a forest where every tree is decorated with garlands, there are ice sculptures, and so on. You drive about 500–600 meters along this wooded strip and only then enter the estate. A butler accompanied us on a buran (snowmobile), all lit up too.

Grandfather Frost has many stories. I think maybe I«ll write memoirs someday. Because I»ve seen it all. There were indecent proposals too, about ten years ago. Ladies called, they needed Ded Moroz in a sauna, to spend time until morning. Well, with all the ensuing circumstances.

— The ladies were bolder back then, I guess.

— No, well, I was bolder too, but I had to refuse.

— How much, by the way, did they offer you for that?

— Oh, I don«t remember. It didn»t even get to the price. Just the «technical assignment» was voiced, let«s call it that. And that»s it. I chickened out. And then I really regretted chickening out (laughs).

— If you think about it, from a purely professional point of view, spending the whole night in a sauna is tough. You«re in a costume with a beard.

— I don«t know, maybe a wig was enough for them, and the rest didn»t matter. They wanted to call me as an escort, not just to congratulate on New Year«s.

I remembered another creepy, trashy story, just beyond the pale. This was also over ten years ago.

Me and the Snow Maiden accept an order and for some reason, I still don«t remember why, we mix up the apartment. We»re standing, knocking, it turns out we«re going to the wrong place. We don»t know yet that we«re in the wrong place. And it so happens that an adult and his child live there, with the same names as the client. Well, say, the parent Alexander opens the door, and the child there is Tanyusha.

But the apartment is in complete chaos. It«s just a den. Not a den, a hellhole. And the poor child is wandering around there. The Christmas tree, of course, isn»t decorated. But the names match, the address too, we think.

They immediately: «Oh, Ded Moroz!», back and forth, everyone in a drunken stupor. We do our program. And I, while leading a round dance, out of the corner of my eye near the balcony exit, see something rolled up either in a carpet or linoleum… a corpse of an elderly person. Imagine, it«s freezing cold outside, he»s frozen, already all corpse-colored. Well, I«m sort of calming myself down, thinking maybe it»s some wax figure or something from Halloween. The Snow Maiden assured me I was hallucinating.

When we were leaving, we asked to be paid for the order. And then it became clear we had come to the wrong place. The names just coincided. And I would have forgotten this story, believed it was my imagination, a vision. But literally two or three days later in the Friday issue of the newspaper Yakutsk Vecherniy I read that on Kirov Street, in this building where we were, the head of the family had discovered the corpse of his elderly father on the balcony.

I don«t know who saw it all, how, under what circumstances they told the police. The fact is that the father, a drinking buddy, died, I don»t know the cause of death, but the son rolled him up in a carpet and «for better times» put him on the balcony, accordingly didn«t report it anywhere. That»s the kind of creepy story it was.

— After such adventures, aren«t you ever scared at work?

— No. Only once was I scared. We were booked with the Snow Maiden, and there was a very cramped one-room apartment, all cluttered with furniture. We somehow try to lead a round dance on a small patch of free territory—me, Snow Maiden, the child, and the mom. It wasn«t even a round dance—we were just treading in one place. And I either with my staff or my costume caught a blanket, I»m walking and walking and pull it off. And under this blanket, imagine, lies a paralyzed grandmother.

My first thought was that she was dead, because she was lying with her eyes closed. I immediately remembered that balcony. The grandmother, apparently, was covered up, thinking she would go unnoticed. And then such an awkward situation.

I, of course, didn«t bat an eye, the woman immediately corrected this awkward position: covered the grandmother again. But, nevertheless, I got scared then, a rethinking of values occurred: what life is, death, and so on. Those kinds of thoughts ran through my head.

Other wild stories of Ded Moroz will be published in a separate article by 14.RU.

Ded Moroz«s personal life has worked out

— Are you a principled Ded Moroz in terms of orders?

— Yes, in principle, I«m not picky. And I only look at the schedule—whether it matches or not, because taking more just to manage—that»s not me. I don«t want to be late and let people down. And for many years I»ve worked with charitable foundations. Before, we had a social canteen for the needy at the «Rechport» (river port), I always worked there. It closed this year, unfortunately, due to financial problems.

But otherwise, I«d probably accept any order. Well, if, of course, it doesn»t cross some boundaries of what«s permissible, doesn»t violate moral and ethical norms. The main thing is that it«s in the name of good and magic, that there»s no negativity in it.

— Compared to last year, are there fewer or more orders?

— This year I tried to run a big advertising campaign for myself. That is, I tried to fill up December. There are naturally more calls. I also started working in collaboration with one event company. All because expenses have increased.

— Why have they suddenly increased?

— Well… Grandfather Frost acquired a family this year… so sort of…

— You got married?!

— Yes. I got married.

— Grandfather Frost got married! That«s news! And how does your wife feel about your work?

— Positively, she understands everything perfectly. Her gifts depend directly on this work, so she knows—the money will be spent on her (laughs). The only thing is, she«s very jealous and says: no Snow Maidens.

— Well, that«s it—even if you»re invited to the sauna again, alas, Vladimir, no chance.

— No chance!

— By the way, do you have children?

— Yes, Grandfather Frost has children from previous marriages. Two daughters.

— Doesn«t your wife want to work as a Snow Maiden?

— No, neither as a Snow Maiden nor as a snow woman. Snow Maiden is, after all, the granddaughter of Ded Moroz, and I have a wife.

— How long have you known her, if it«s not a secret?

— Three years. Ours is a young union.

— Vladimir, how old did you turn this year?

— As Ded Moroz or as a civilian?

— As a civilian.

— I«ll be 41 in a month. And as Grandfather Frost, I»ve probably been living for my third decade. I don«t really keep count. If you take school years—my mom was always dressing me up in something, experimenting, and there were all sorts of costumes at home—then it»s almost my whole life.

«I»ve been to cattle slaughter and boar castration«

— And where did you work before?

— I worked for over 10 years at the Alexander Pushkin Russian Drama Theater. I got a job there as a lighting technician, then became a leading lighting specialist. Gradually started participating in theater productions, then followed roles in films. Colleagues said I was charismatic and had the right look.

Otherwise, I«ve managed to work as a loader, a mud mixer at the »Khotu« mud bath, a furniture maker, plumber, electrician, air conditioning technician, ventilation technician, advertising agent. I»ve been to cattle slaughter, as we kept livestock since childhood, to boar castration, I even still have an ad in the Doska Ykt archive. I can always restore it if suddenly there«s no money (laughs).

I«ve tried myself in so many fields. Now I work as a nursing assistant at a home for the disabled and elderly. Every year in December I take vacation. I»m the most unpopular vacation-taker at work. Usually everyone takes vacation in summer, spring, autumn—and they always argue about who goes when. And mine is always December.

New Year«s right on the dot

— On December 31, if you take orders and even go at the stroke of the chimes, how do you celebrate New Year«s yourself? Everyone wants to be at home, with family…

— First, for Ded Morozes—well, I won«t speak for all, but at least for me—there»s no feeling of fairytale, magic, something like that. For me, all that has dulled and burned out due to my activity. I don«t feel it, unfortunately or fortunately. New Year»s for me is hard, heavy work.

— And what time do you get home then?

— If it works out, then right on the dot at the stroke of the chimes. Sometimes, I literally celebrate New Year«s on the road. More often after New Year»s night. If I have an order at 11:30 p.m., it«s hard to get home by midnight.

— So you don«t celebrate New Year»s? You come, take off the costume, throw the beard away—and like: «I»m going to sleep,« and that»s it. Without Olivier salad, without tangerines.

— When I was unmarried and living with my mom, I«d come and go to sleep. Ded Moroz, because he doesn»t drink. That is, I don«t even drink champagne on New Year»s. And now, since I have a family, I somehow have to show respect, pay attention to my wife, sit at the table. But still, on the 1st I have to go back into battle, I need to rest on time. So I won«t sit until morning. Eat, talk, and off to bed.

— Doesn«t it upset you—that you»re sitting in the car at that time while everyone is celebrating?

— It absolutely doesn«t upset me. I»m telling you, for me everything has long since dulled and there are no disappointments.

— Because it«s justified? You earn well?

— There«s an expression »one day feeds the year«. That one fits my work perfectly.

— Can you say how much you earn?

— No. I«ll just say it»s a lot. There«s something to sweat for, something to get tired for.

Ded Moroz, go to the banya!

— A silly question: where does Grandfather Frost himself like to relax?

— In the banya (Russian bathhouse).

— In the banya? Ded Moroz, go to the banya!

— Exactly (laughs). Well or, more narrowly—I like Turkish hamam. We have an establishment in Yakutsk that combines both. And it so happens that my friends also go there to relax. So I combine a favorite place with pleasant company.

— Do you have a whole crew of Grandfather Frosts there?

— The people there are diverse. Who isn«t in that company: Grandfather Frosts, directors of funeral services, directors of auto repair shops, and just idlers. Those I»ve maintained relations with since childhood. Who became what, who grew up to be what.

Also, besides the banya, I really love going mushroom picking. Of course, I also love fishing, but I wouldn«t say my heart skips a beat for it. It»s more like pastime on the riverbank.

— And do your friends invite you—these directors of funeral services—to their New Year«s? Or they»re like: «No, we won»t bother Vladimir.«

— No, why, they all use my services. Naturally, I come to them free of charge.

— So you«re friends with other Ded Morozes?

— I«m connected with some through our theatrical past, because in the theater practically every actor either was or will be a Ded Moroz. I have a friend, the chief director of the Nyurba Theater, Alexey Makarov. I wouldn»t call it friendship, but we maintain relations. I sometimes throw orders to some of the Ded Morozes, or they give me theirs if they can«t make it. We don»t have a common group, so purely work relations, nothing more.

— This year on December 1, didn«t you go to the Yakutsk tree lighting?

— No. Last year I was there, but just participated in a flash mob by FAPK «Yakutia». We worked on the same territory with the Ded Moroz who lit the tree. They don«t invite me because they need a Ded Moroz with status from Veliky Ustyug. I don»t know if it«s that Ded Moroz or not, but he»s definitely not local, always a visitor.

Even though I«m colorful, as I position myself: »Ded Moroz number one in the city. The best, real Ded Moroz.« But that»s not enough for them. It«s, you know, like Apple products—seems all the same, but they overpay for the brand.

Although even adults believe in me. I try when I work. As soon as I put on the costume, I«m not me anymore, I»m Ded Moroz. My gestures, facial expressions, walk—everything changes. I turn into an elder.

«I love offal, I don»t believe in Santa Claus«

— Vladimir, let«s do a blitz—these are short questions on the topic.

— Let«s.

— What does Ded Moroz like to eat?

— Here«s the thing, Ded Moroz lost 50 kilograms (110 lb) a year ago. At one point it happened that I started gaining a lot of weight. So I gave up bread, all flour, sweets, and started walking 20–30 kilometers a day regardless of season and weather conditions, despite the frosts, that is even in –50°C (–58°F). But after getting married, my diet changed a bit. I still don»t eat bread, nor sweets. But I started eating after six.

And I love Yakut cuisine, for example, offal, even though I«m Slavic myself. I love carbonara pasta, shashlik, meat in any of its forms. One day I want to go abroad and have a gastronomic tour. I»m drawn to Cambodia or Sri Lanka—to eat insects, something unusual. Some might find it even disgusting, but it arouses my appetite and desire to try.

— Three words that characterize New Year«s in Yakutsk.

— New Year«s mood in Yakutsk is when through the fog, the garlands of the main New Year»s tree and beautiful neon light decorations, ice sculptures, which only become visible when you approach them, cut through. In this milky haze of fog you approach and start to see something. That«s, of course, not three words, but let them be three such concepts. Because it»s hard for me to describe New Year«s mood in Yakutsk in three words.

— What does Ded Moroz himself give to his relatives?

— According to need. Probably, like an ordinary member of an average Yakut family, Ded Moroz doesn«t have anything special. Sometimes, of course, I want to make a surprise. But there»s simply not enough time to arrange something grand.

— What«s the strangest thing children have asked you for?

— The first thing that comes to mind is a live, hand-held alien. And specifically from some universe, not any of them, but a pedigreed one. Specifically, he had to be on a leash for some reason. And accessories for him were also required: a fashionable leash and collar. That one really outdid, overshadowed all other strange children«s wishes.

— By the way, do your own children believe in Ded Moroz?

— My children«s fairytale ended early. It was impossible to hide it. Dad is always in makeup during New Year»s holidays, Dad always has a beard, Dad is reading something, learning poems, and so on.

— And do you believe in the existence of Santa Claus?

— First, I don«t like that very often they put a child on Ded Moroz»s lap. And they also say it«s the custom. First, they never sat on Ded Moroz»s lap. Well, as I remember, know. That«s the custom with Santa Claus. And now they very often try to impose this on me, but it»s alien to me.

And so, of course, I don«t believe in the existence of Santa Claus. I consider him more of a foreign colleague. I don»t know how developed it is business-wise for them, but probably people earn money there too.

— Is it easier to work with a Snow Maiden or without her?

— From personal experience I can say—easier without her, because you adjust exclusively to your own schedule and rely only on yourself.

— If you could earn as Ded Moroz all year round, would you agree?

— Of course. I dream of that. But on the other hand, working every day in such an intense schedule is hard. Children are very exhausting. Of course, it«s nice to look into the eyes of both children and adults who believe in the fairytale and in whose gaze something magical is reflected. Yes, it»s very pleasant. But it«s so hard to work.

— Should Ded Moroz«s costume be red or blue?

— I don«t know who invented the blue Ded Moroz costume. For me, it»s like a red rag to a bull. I«m not a fan of blue costumes. That, it seems to me, is wrong. Snow Maiden, yes, in a blue, light blue beautiful costume. But Ded Moroz should be in red. That»s my strictly personal opinion, but it«s critical.

— What«s an ideal day off for Ded Moroz?

— At different stages of my life, ideal days off were different. In modern realities, as of today, a day off is when my wife also has a day off. We«re at home, watching TV, only getting up to eat something.

— And what does Ded Moroz himself dream of?

— There are no material desires as such, I can handle that myself. I«d like to wish for something that would really be helped a bit by magic, so that everything in my family becomes even better than now: everyone still understood each other at a half-word, so that there would be no misunderstandings, only respect for each other, and, of course, I want health for myself, loved ones, relatives, and friends. The simplest wishes.