avael273

He probably thought you were cold, it is sort of a custom to offer a bit of strong alcohol so you would feel warmer, not that it actually warms you up. That might explain why he didn't drink any. Were you not dressed accordingly?

It depends whether you run short distances between heated places like shops, cars, hotels or you stay in open air for periods of 20-30 minutes.

You have probably noticed locals have quite a lot of clothing with fur on them, at least 2 layers, good boots, keeping legs warm is important. You definitely have to experience it to understand why, it is best if your guide/friend is local and can lend you some proper clothes to wear as buying fur clothing for just one trip can be expensive.

It is especially true in Siberia as their temperature is quite a bit lower than european part of Russia, like Moscow. Also people not used to cold tend to be dismissive then end up sick or worse. Notice how many cases of death or frostbite reported in central europe when sudden cold wave hits, because people are not used to low temperatures and don't dress accordingly, you don't play with cold. Better to be hot you can always take off an extra piece of clothing and put in your bag rather than end up with cold or worse.

No it is because plane from Vladivostok to Moscow is half the price ~150 EUR and takes 9 hours, so any sane person will choose plane.

Conductor checked your ticket so if he/she was ok with it then it is not a problem.

You definitely had restaurant car there in the train, but they tend to be expensive and food is subpar usually so locals bring their own food. Sometimes your conductor has some snacks but those really are just snacks like cookies or candy, and also expensive.