Public utilities in a house in St Petersburg decided to remove snow from the outside windowsill using an old, non-electric cast-iron iron - a technique which one of the building's residents captured on video, posted the creative approach on Russia's online community, VKontakte, on 20 January.
The footage shows workers trying to pull down the snow on the windowsill with an iron tied to a rope. However, they only manage to clear small pieces of snow.
The building's residents reacted to the impromptu approach with ardent admiration beneath which some were able to detect an undertone of gentle ridicule. 'New technologies straight from Russia 2022 - the future has come,' read one comment whereas another praised the investment necessary to bring forth such a scheme: '1 billion rubles were allocated for development'. Another was overawed by the quality of the equipment: 'OMG, where did they get such a rare iron'. However, others suggested residents should take shovels and clean the window sills themselves.