MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin marked Orthodox Epiphany with a traditional icy dip, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
"Vladimir Putin took an icy plunge, as he does every year," he told reporters. "Naturally, Epiphany is a great holiday for him, as for all Orthodox believers who work in the Kremlin."
"This is a tradition and many honor it," Peskov noted. "However, some don’t do this. This is a personal matter."
Immersing in ice-cold water on Epiphany is not bravado for 73-year-old Putin. This is a tribute to cultural and, in a sense, Christian tradition. The president is known to be a religious man. In addition, he is in excellent physical shape and can afford practicing customs that are extreme for most ordinary people without risk to his health.
The Kremlin first reported that the president had taken part in Epiphany bathing in 2018. Back then, Putin was on a trip to St. Petersburg. He plunged into an ice hole at Lake Seliger while visiting the Nilov Monastery in the Tver Region. Peskov explained then that it was not the first experience of Epiphany bathing for the president. Putin, in his words, took part in Epiphany events "in a more private environment."
