Climate. Owing to its vast size and the fact that most of Russian's territory is far removed from any ocean, the climate throughout the country is extremely continental, with distinct periods of warm and cold weather. The continentality of Russia's climate increases as one travels east, with average temperature differences between the warmest (July) and coldest (January) periods in Eastern Siberia, for example, varying as much as 65 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit). There is, however, much variation in climate based on latitude and physical geography. Temperatures for Moscow and St. Petersburg range from highs of 32 C in the summer to low - 25 C in winter