Europe

Home page

Europe

Putin takes icy plunge into waters of Lake Seliger

19 January 2018 09:45 (UTC +04:00)

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a male monastery to the northwest of Moscow on Thursday and took a dip in the icy waters of Lake Seliger to celebrate the Epiphany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, APA reported citing TASS.

"On occasion of the Epiphany holiday Putin attended a liturgy and also took part in the Epiphany bathing in Lake Seliger," Peskov said.

Putin visited the Nilo-Stolobensky monastery in the Tver region after wrapping up his working visit to St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

This winter season, central Russia has not been hit by traditional cold weather and this night the temperature was not below minus 6-7 degrees of Celsius, Peskov said. This is not the first time when Putin is bathing in the icy waters. The president has taken part in the ice-hole bathing event "for several years already," he added.

Putin often attends churches during major Orthodox Christian holidays, but this is the first time the Kremlin has reported that the president has participated in the ice-hole bathing event.

The ritual dunks in the icy waters take place overnight to January 19 on one of major Orthodox Christian holidays, the Epiphany. However, ice swimming is a folk custom rather than a religious ritual.