Russian President Vladimir Putin takes an icy dip to mark Epiphany

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes an icy dip to mark Epiphany

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In the footage, the 68-year-old man is seen coming out of a wooden hut wearing a long sheepskin coat, undressing and submerging three times in a cross-shaped pool crowned with a statue of crucifixion carved out of ice.

Temperatures in the Moscow region were around -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) last week.

Celebrated on January 19, Epiphany Day commemorates Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. In Epiphany, water is considered sacred and many people in Russia and Eastern Europe take a dip as a sign of their orthodox Christian faith.

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Tradition is believed to bring good health, strengthen the immune system and cleanse sins.

Putin’s photographic opportunity comes as Russia works to increase vaccination efforts and control the coronavirus outbreak, and days after his political rival Alexei Navalny was arrested on his return to Moscow.

Putin’s blue swimming trunks in the footage were noticed on Russian social media, due to their similarity to the missing blue underwear allegedly used to poison Navalny with the nervous agent Novichok last year.

Navalny told CNN that he is certain that Putin knew of a shadow operation by elite agents before he was poisoned. The Kremlin previously denied any involvement in Navalny’s poisoning.
Putin’s icy dip is not the first time he has been naked in public. In 2018, he bathed in the icy waters of Lake Seliger to mark the Epiphany. He was also photographed shirtless while fishing in 2017 and bare-chested while horseback riding on vacation in 2009.

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