12 images Created 11 Jul 2021
Sandunovsky Banya
After years of neglect Sandunovsky Banya, Russia’s most famous public bathhouse, has been restored to its former splendour. Located close to the Kremlin, the 100 year old former haunt of senior Communist apparatchiks is now a favoured meeting place for Russia’s new businessmen.
The banya is an ancient tradition, a quintessential Russian experience, but it’s about far more than scrubbing off the day’s dirt. It’s a communal encounter, a social occasion, and for many the place where real business gets done, no matter at what level: President Yeltsin enjoyed conducting negotiations with foreign leaders in the banya.
The banya’s traditional combination of the parilka’s fierce heat, energetic veniki thrashings, an ice-cold pool followed by a potent dose of vodka appeals to Russian machismo, and most banya aficionados are dismissive of the western sauna - “not the real thing”, they sniff. Decide for yourself. Grab a bottle of the hard stuff, some pickled cucumbers, enter Sandunovsky and banya up.
The banya is an ancient tradition, a quintessential Russian experience, but it’s about far more than scrubbing off the day’s dirt. It’s a communal encounter, a social occasion, and for many the place where real business gets done, no matter at what level: President Yeltsin enjoyed conducting negotiations with foreign leaders in the banya.
The banya’s traditional combination of the parilka’s fierce heat, energetic veniki thrashings, an ice-cold pool followed by a potent dose of vodka appeals to Russian machismo, and most banya aficionados are dismissive of the western sauna - “not the real thing”, they sniff. Decide for yourself. Grab a bottle of the hard stuff, some pickled cucumbers, enter Sandunovsky and banya up.
