Moscow, Russia - You’ll see it every year, in many Russian lakes and reservoirs, during the night of January 18. Despite the freezing conditions, dozens of people strip off and take it in turns to plunge into the water through holes in the ice.
This is their unusual way of marking one of the main Christian festivals: Epiphany, when Russian Orthodox Christians commemorate the baptism of Christ.
At the end of February, Russians mark another festival in which the traditions of Christians and pagans are closely interwoven: Shrovetide.
Both Orthodox Christians and atheists will either prepare at home, or order in restaurants, the special dish for this festival - Russian bliny pancakes.
How religious are Russian people today? It’s difficult to give a simple answer to this. In just the same way it’s impossible to give a simple answer to the question: do Russians have a tendency to drunkenness?
There are many myths about Russia. And sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.