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His friend Vasily Nesterov wrote about the condition of the artist: “He ardently prayed for his late wife, passionately, almost frantically fighting in the church for a meaning... Then, in a blizzard and a frost, wearing only an autumn coat he ran to the cemetery, and there, on her tomb, crying bitter tears, pleaded, asking the dead woman - about what?.. Who knows what the cause of the grieving was?”

Time passed, but the deep depression did not lessen in any way, so friends advised him to take the children and visit Krasnoyarsk again.

The uniqueness of Siberian life, the bright colours of its nature, the valiant daring of the Cossacks who had there created their business – all helped the artist to return to work. The bright impressions took the artist back to his childhood, giving him the will to live, with a renewed energy, and created the basis for fresh work.

The winter was in full swing, the frost cracked, and daring Siberian people were pleased to see and enjoy the cold February sun. The theme of a new picture came to Sukarov, which was built around an ancient holiday game of the Siberian Cossacks. This game was centered around the annual Pancake Festival, which lasts for a week and focuses on a small river town created of ice and snow. Walls were erected; in the battlements along the walls snow guns were placed, and on top of the wall one could see molded figures of cossacks, passersby and horses.Inside the small town there was a snow table, and on it entertainment - snow pies, muffins, ice bottles and mugs, all covered with snow and ice. The snow fortress should be depicted as a comic fight. In this fun scenario numerous participants and spectators were flown in. Defenders with brooms, besoms and rattles surrounded the fortress. At a specific signal the horses began to attack. Those defending withdrew frightened by the throng and the rattles. The horses turned back from the fortress, but then the horsemen once again advanced them on horseback, but the brooms, besoms and rattles were still there. The fight came to an end when someone from the horsemen made their way through numbers of defenders and, breaking through a wall, rushed into the small town. The winner rejoiced by celebrating in the snow, and then retreated in glory. The Festival of Pancakes would become Surakov’s showpiece.

Recalling his childhood, Sukarov wrote: “Here, on this river bank, I, for the first time saw, how people attacked the Snow Town, and how the black horse directly alongside me had entered the small town. I remember it; truly, I have the picture always in my mind... “

Vasily Ivanovich had taken a great interest in the idea - with pleasure he collected materials and looked for people in the crowd for the picture. Krasnoyarsk residents had constructed, specially for the artist, a fortress of ice and snow with towers and spires, and there was also a Cossack around. It worked remarkably well as Sukarov was relaxed as never before. “I have written that I have many times seen this. Now I feel I would like to create, in a painting, an impression of original Siberian life, a painting of its winter, the daring of Cossack youth”, - the artist said. In this impression many friends from Krasnoyarsk were portrayed. In a sleigh, covered by a Tyumen carpet, the artist depicted his brother Alexander in a musquash cap, close to a building, accompanied by the daughter of relatives, and the sisters of Surikova.

The canvas was exhibited in St.Petersburg in 1891 and caused extreme bewilderment amongst the public who had become familiar with the other, much more tragic, Sukarov. For a long time the work did not sell. Only some years later the artist sold the work. However for the artist this was of minor importance. He was invigorated and started to produce further work, in his words: “I was stirred up and I passed from dramas to great cheerfulness.”