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Shirtless Putin takes icy religious plunge, and yes, there are photos
Source: Washington Post
Shirtless Putin takes icy religious plunge, and yes, there are photos
By Alex Horton January 19 at 11:48 AM
The president appears healthy.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin dipped into frigid waters early Friday at a lake in northwestern Russia to mark the Orthodox observance of the Epiphany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.
The president arrived for the pre-dawn ceremony flanked by journalists with video cameras and monks holding gold icons depicting Jesus and his mother Mary, then strode to a wooden platform cut into frozen Lake Seliger. He lowered himself into the water, made a sign of the cross and submerged himself for a moment, in a scene captured by state media. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the water temperature was about 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
Russians observe the feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 19, rather than Jan. 6, as in the West, because they follow the Gregorian calendar, which observes Christmas on Jan. 7.
The ceremony to purify the spirit drew half a million worshipers to natural and artificial pools at 4,000 sites across Russia on Friday, the government-run Channel One reported. Some of those people took a dip in the sea at Sochi and others plunged into minus-58 degree waters in remote Yakutia. That region holds the title of the world's coldest permanently occupied village, where even eyelashes freeze.
-snip-
By Alex Horton January 19 at 11:48 AM
The president appears healthy.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin dipped into frigid waters early Friday at a lake in northwestern Russia to mark the Orthodox observance of the Epiphany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.
The president arrived for the pre-dawn ceremony flanked by journalists with video cameras and monks holding gold icons depicting Jesus and his mother Mary, then strode to a wooden platform cut into frozen Lake Seliger. He lowered himself into the water, made a sign of the cross and submerged himself for a moment, in a scene captured by state media. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the water temperature was about 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
Russians observe the feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 19, rather than Jan. 6, as in the West, because they follow the Gregorian calendar, which observes Christmas on Jan. 7.
The ceremony to purify the spirit drew half a million worshipers to natural and artificial pools at 4,000 sites across Russia on Friday, the government-run Channel One reported. Some of those people took a dip in the sea at Sochi and others plunged into minus-58 degree waters in remote Yakutia. That region holds the title of the world's coldest permanently occupied village, where even eyelashes freeze.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/19/shirtless-putin-takes-icy-religious-plunge-and-yes-there-are-photos/
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