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Swimming In Russia’s Icy Winter: Recreation, Religion
Swimming In Russia’s Icy Winter: Recreation, Religion, And Now A Record?
In a country renowned the world over for the harshness of its winters, Russians are surprisingly eager to take to the water even at the coldest time of year: just for fun, for reasons of faith, or maybe to set a world record.
It was that last one that drew 40-year-old Yekaterina Nekrasova to brave the waters of the world's deepest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal in Siberia. Nekrasova reportedly swam 85 meters (279 feet)—under the winter ice.
As the Times of London reported, Nekrasova's back-up team cut holes in the ice so that she could get to the surface if she needed to. She completed the swim without needing them, and without wearing any special equipment: just a bathing suit.
A Possible World Record
Video posted on YouTube by the Moscow Times showed Nekrasova completing the feat, which could have earned her a world record. CNN quoted a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records as saying that they had received details but had yet to verify the swim.
Nekrasova made her record attempt January 7, Orthodox Christmas Day, and it is another religious festival that traditionally draws Russians to the icy winter waters in great numbers.
Orthodox Christians mark the feast of Epiphany January 19, and many of the faithful across the world's largest country immerse themselves in rivers and lakes as part of a ritual commemorating the baptism of Jesus.
At Epiphany, Putin Follows Tradition In Taking The Plunge
President Vladimir Putin—known for active summer vacations where he has been pictured bare-chested on horseback—has also observed the tradition. In 2018, he took to the waters of Lake Seliger, north of Moscow, as priests bearing icons looked on. The cameras were there to record the event, helping to burnish Putin's image as a healthy, robust man of action, and Orthodox Christian believer.
Yet while record attempts and religious observance undoubtedly offer powerful motivation to put yourself through what may be a considerable shock to the system, regular Russian winter swimmers praise their pastime as hugely beneficial for the health.
Such hardly souls often refer to themselves as "walruses", and, like the giant arctic mammal they seek to emulate in their icy dips, are hardly deterred by the lowest of winter temperatures.
Russia's Healthy 'Walruses'
I lived and worked in Russia as a correspondent for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s. The members of the "Walrus" clubs I encountered then tended to be middle-aged or older—perhaps the physical rigor and an early start on a Sunday morning had less appeal to some members of the younger generations—invariably good-humored, and—they swore—in good health. Claims of never suffering a winter cold often came in answer to the question: "Why?"
And that was a question the "Walruses" sometimes put to me: "Why don't you join us in the water?" I never did, worried about the possible effect that the drastic and sudden change of temperature might have on someone unused to swimming in those conditions—but maybe a winter dip should be on my to-do list for a future trip.
Read More : pg slot
In a country renowned the world over for the harshness of its winters, Russians are surprisingly eager to take to the water even at the coldest time of year: just for fun, for reasons of faith, or maybe to set a world record.
It was that last one that drew 40-year-old Yekaterina Nekrasova to brave the waters of the world's deepest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal in Siberia. Nekrasova reportedly swam 85 meters (279 feet)—under the winter ice.
As the Times of London reported, Nekrasova's back-up team cut holes in the ice so that she could get to the surface if she needed to. She completed the swim without needing them, and without wearing any special equipment: just a bathing suit.
A Possible World Record
Video posted on YouTube by the Moscow Times showed Nekrasova completing the feat, which could have earned her a world record. CNN quoted a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records as saying that they had received details but had yet to verify the swim.
Nekrasova made her record attempt January 7, Orthodox Christmas Day, and it is another religious festival that traditionally draws Russians to the icy winter waters in great numbers.
Orthodox Christians mark the feast of Epiphany January 19, and many of the faithful across the world's largest country immerse themselves in rivers and lakes as part of a ritual commemorating the baptism of Jesus.
At Epiphany, Putin Follows Tradition In Taking The Plunge
President Vladimir Putin—known for active summer vacations where he has been pictured bare-chested on horseback—has also observed the tradition. In 2018, he took to the waters of Lake Seliger, north of Moscow, as priests bearing icons looked on. The cameras were there to record the event, helping to burnish Putin's image as a healthy, robust man of action, and Orthodox Christian believer.
Yet while record attempts and religious observance undoubtedly offer powerful motivation to put yourself through what may be a considerable shock to the system, regular Russian winter swimmers praise their pastime as hugely beneficial for the health.
Such hardly souls often refer to themselves as "walruses", and, like the giant arctic mammal they seek to emulate in their icy dips, are hardly deterred by the lowest of winter temperatures.
Russia's Healthy 'Walruses'
I lived and worked in Russia as a correspondent for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s. The members of the "Walrus" clubs I encountered then tended to be middle-aged or older—perhaps the physical rigor and an early start on a Sunday morning had less appeal to some members of the younger generations—invariably good-humored, and—they swore—in good health. Claims of never suffering a winter cold often came in answer to the question: "Why?"
And that was a question the "Walruses" sometimes put to me: "Why don't you join us in the water?" I never did, worried about the possible effect that the drastic and sudden change of temperature might have on someone unused to swimming in those conditions—but maybe a winter dip should be on my to-do list for a future trip.
Read More : pg slot