Snow sculptures work with some gnarly-looking powder.

Dirty snow from pollution and an impending New Year Celebration led those in charge of a Siberian coal mining region to take desperate measures. Video uploaded by a watchful citizen shows that the town clearly used white paint to hide its dirty snow.

“I apologize to the townspeople whose New Year’s mood was spoiled by this,” said Dmitry Ivanov, the head of the town.

A local news agency published this gem of an endorsement:

“Apparently, no white snow could be found around the city surrounded by coal mines so they had to resort to modern technology,”

Happy Holidays from Russia.