things to do in Russia

there is a lot to do and to see in Russia, you can find info anywhere online about sights and museums, beautiful churches, women of course, drinking, eating, night clubs and etc etc etc..

what is a must for you to try when you are in Russia is to go to Banya - Russian steam bath or russian sauna or sweat loadge

Banya buildings can be quite large with a number of different bathing areas or simple wooden cabins like the traditional Finnish cottage saunas.

Russian banyas usually have three rooms: a steam room, a washing room, and an entrance room. The entrance room, called a predbannik (предбанник) or pre-bath, has pegs to hang clothing upon and benches to rest on. The washing room has a hot water tap, which uses water heated by the steam room stove, and a vessel or tap for cold water to mix water of a comfortable temperature for washing. The heater has three compartments: a fire box that is fed from the entrance room, the rock chamber, which has a small hole to throw the water into and a water tank at the top. The top of the water tank is usually closed to prevent vapour from infiltrating the banya, and water to be thrown on the rocks should be taken from the tank as this will make better steam than if cold water were used. If an electric heater is used, the firebox is omitted. Most Russians believe the wood-burning stove is a better banya heater. Water from a bucket by the stove is poured over the heated rocks in the stove. There are wooden benches across the room from the stove. People enter the steam room when the stove is hot, but before water is poured on the rocks. Getting a good sweat on before using water is preferred to using steam right away, as the sweat is thought to protect and condition the skin from the steam.

In "black banyas" (по-чёрному), the smoke escapes through a hole in the ceiling while "white" banyas (по-белому) have pipes to vent the smoke. The escaping smoke in the former style darkens the banya's interior wood, hence the 'black' name. Both styles are characterized by boulder stones, clay balls, and cauldrons for the hot water, and stone stoves with a tank to heat the water. The firewood is usually birch. A black banya is much more rudimentary, and is generally considered to be less desirable than the "white" banya described above.

Chapkas, or felt hats, are used to protect the hair, and pads to sit on as the hot, dry wood can be very uncomfortable for bare skin. The chapka also allows the user to tolerate higher temperatures without feeling lightheaded or faint. Chapkas, padjopniks (mats), and felt mitts are commonly sold in sets in shops in Russia, along with aromatherapy scents specially made for inclusion into the steam water. After the first good sweat is induced, it is customary to cool off in the breeze outdoors, or splash around in cold water or in a lake or river. The banya is re-entered, and small amounts of water are splashed on the rocks. If too much water is used at once, the steam will be cool with a clammy feel; a small amount of water on sufficiently hot rocks will evaporate quickly, producing a quickly dispersed steam consisting of small vapour particles. Waving the venik causes convective heat. The second sweat is commonly the first time venik would be used, but it is not uncommon to wait until the third session. After each sweat, cooling off is repeated, and patrons may take this break to drink beer, tea or other beverages, play games or relax in good company in an antechamber to the steam room.

Commercial banyas often have only a steam room, or a steam room and a dry room, depending on local custom, or the money the owner of the banya was willing to spend.

Going into the steam room is alternated with showers or baths of cold water, as well as standing in the breeze to cool off outside. In the parilka, people often hit themselves or others with bunches of dried branches and leaves from white birch or other suitable trees (called venik, веник) in order to improve the circulation. In summer, fresh branches are used. They have a short useful life and smell of cut grass. In winter, branches that have been dried and then moistened in hot water are used. It is important that the bushes have leaves, so they don't hurt when used. In the winter dark, people may roll in the snow with no clothes on, or may run to cold lakes where holes have been cut into the ice for post-banya bathing purposes.

Another kind of banya, called a "pokhodnaya banya" (походная баня, hiking banya), is popular among the Russian military, mountaineers, and other people who travel for extended periods in harsh environments. It consists of a steambath set up in a tent. Hiking banyas are usually made near a riverbank where many big, round stones are available. The stones are made into a big circular pile, 1 - 4 meters in diameter and 0.5 - 1 meters in height, so that there is space left on the ground to make a fire inside of the pile. Firewood is burned for a few hours in this improvised stove, until the stones on the surface of the pile become so hot that water poured on them turns into steam. Around the pile, a space is tarped to form a small tent. The banya is ready when it becomes very hot inside and there is a lot of steam. Bathers can then cool off in an ice-cold mountain river.!