Discover The Culture Of Bathing With Brooms In Russia

Beaten with brooms in a room full of steam nearly 100 degrees Celsius, many Russians feel they are born again when they come out of the bathroom.
Discover the culture of bathing with brooms in Russia
Russians often use birch branches to form brooms to bathe banya. Photo: Pinterest.
The Russians consider going to the banya the key to good health. Scientists have discovered that banya brings a lot of benefits, such as subcutaneous blood circulation, detoxification, improved muscle functions, joints

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Get to know banya
Banya is quite like a sauna but the humidity and the steam inside are much higher than regular saunas. Bathing in the banya is one of Russia's oldest cultures, including quite a few stages. Visiting houses in the countryside or the Russian suburbs, you will easily spot a small house made entirely of wood, separate from the end of the garden - it is a banya
In June of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with a banya apartment with traditional design and materials, according to Sputnik News.




A traditional banya house built in Russia. Photo: Medium.
According to medieval documents recorded by the Apostle Andrew (one of Jesus' 12 Apostles): “When I came to the land of the Slavs (Indo-Europeans) and lived with them, I noticed some wooden bathroom. They heated the room to extreme heat and then took off their clothes. After anointing the body, they used a bunch of young plants to kumquat them ”.
Over the course of history, banya is deeply embedded in Russian culture on many levels. Banya was mentioned in short stories by Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Сhekhov Soviet writer Mikhail Zoshchenko, author of Scenes from the Bathhouse, expresses a sarcastic view of Russian life at that time through a banya house.



Every New Year's Eve, Russians traditionally watch Irony of Fate - a comedy about a wrong trip to the banya.
Banya is black and white
There are 2 types of banya common in Russian culture: the black and white banya.
Specifically, the traditional Russian banya type is the black banya. The reason is that the banyas of old days had no chimney, causing smoke from the kitchen to escape through gaps in the roof and walls. Over time in these places forms black soot.
Smoke soot contaminated areas must be thoroughly cleaned before each shower. Before the steam, all the doors in the banya must be fully opened to refresh the air inside. In addition, the bathers also have to wait for the smoke from the stove to clear away to avoid the risk of smoke poisoning.




Black Banya. Photo: Древо.
“Many bathers believe that the black bathhouse is a real Russian banya. However, black baths currently appear only in the remote northernmost regions of Russia and villages in the Siberian regions, ”said Anton Romanchenko, director of the Okhta bath center in Moscow.
The Russians joked that the black banya later acquired the chimney and became the white banya. The only difference lies in the internal heating system.
The steam boiler takes up about 1/3 of the white banya space. Photo: Skaci.




This furnace is responsible for heating the rock at the top of the furnace and the room temperature increases gradually. When the stones are already hot, the landlord will extinguish the fire, blocking the chimney to prevent heat from escaping. During the process, the bathers will pour water into the oven to adjust the humidity, the amount of steam in the room. Nowadays, besides using wood to generate heat, many banya use electrical energy to heat.
Yegor Chernegov-Nomerov, singer and fan of banya in Russia, said: “You put on a special hat on your head and get drunk in a real sauna, people whipped birch branches soaked in water. up friend. Then you immediately run out, jump into the icy lake. Then you will understand what happiness is.



This wonderful thing is only available in Russia ”.
Chernegov-Nomerov also shared that he visited many famous bathhouses in the world, even went to Austria every winter to have a sauna but still could not forget the feeling that banya brought him.
Prepare for a sauna session
Photo: EuphoraSalonMediSpa.
An inseparable part of the banya is the tall hat and birch broom. Photo: lioznonews.
Sauna in banya is quite special. The water used for steaming in the banya can be heated with firewood or by electric heat. Inside the sauna room there are large wooden benches located along the walls, built in steps.



You can sit or lie on the bench as you like. The higher the bench, the higher the temperature, possibly over 70 degrees Celsius. If you find it difficult to breathe, you can bend down very low to avoid the heat.
The Russians have a saying: "You do not grow old the day you are in the banya". Photo: Medium.
Since ancient times, the Slavs beat themselves and their friends in banya with birch branches, oak trees, and maple trees. Each type of broom plant has different uses for bathers. At large banya baths, customers will choose a broom that suits their needs.



This is considered a special form of massage that helps blood circulation, sweating, boosts metabolism and cleans the whole body. Oil in the leaves of the plant works.

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