“Moto-moto“: Kazakh man’s January swim amazes social media
The footage was filmed on January 4. In the video, the man slowly walks into the water as if it were a warm summer day rather than January. The author of the clip, blogger Olga Bibekina, humorously captioned it: “Swimming season 2026 at Kapchagay officially open.”
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Публикация от Ольга Бибекина ????????????Almaty (@oliya_b)
The man in the video turned out to be Alexander, a resident of Konayev. As it turned out, winter swimming is not a spontaneous stunt for him but a long-standing habit. Alexander said he has practiced ice swimming for many years, but this winter was different — the reservoir simply did not freeze over.
“Usually I dive into an ice hole every year. This time the reservoir didn’t freeze, so that’s how I opened the season. Compared to previous years, the water isn’t that cold,” he said.
According to Alexander, reactions online were mixed, but there was little negativity.
“If your health allows it, why not? We have a group of like-minded people. We often go to the mountains and out into nature. We even have a portable sauna. We steam in the sauna and then swim in cold water,” he explained.
The video sparked hundreds of comments — from jokes about “tropics” and an unusually warm winter to admiration for the man’s courage.
“Wow! A walrus at Kapshagay!”, “What a brave guy,” “Amazing video, respect!”, “What a tiger this walrus is…”, “That’s Maui, Moana’s friend!”, “Moto-moto,” users joked.
This winter has indeed been unusual. Typically, the Kapshagay Reservoir is completely covered with ice during the cold season, attracting locals and tourists looking for dramatic winter scenery — frozen shores and massive ice formations.
This year, however, the reservoir never froze. And instead of the usual winter views, social media is now buzzing about a January swim — footage that looks more like the start of summer than the middle of winter.