Young Russians seek health, highs in ice swimming
Diving into a long hole cut in the ice, Viktoria Tsuranova swims a few strokes and flashes a smile at the photographer capturing the moment for her Instagram account.
She is one of a new generation of Russian “Walruses” – hardy swimmers who plunge into frozen rivers and lakes during the winter.
They swear it wards colds, cellulite, and gives them a rush of euphoria.
Ice swimming in Russia has long been associated with older, usually Speedo-clad men.
But Tsuranova and other members of Moscow’s “Walruses of the Capital” club are giving it a fashionable new image.
“A sporty way of life is right on trend now,” says Nikolai, drinking rosehip tea with honey in a grey onesie.
She had just taken a dip in the L-shaped strip of water cut by the bank of the Moskva River, in the relatively balmy air temperature of -2 C.
“There’s a kind of new wave of young people coming up now, following the generation that set the standard for walrus swimming – the older generation.”
Tsuranova, a fitness blogger, later posted the video and photo of her icy swim on her Instagram, which has 103,000 followers.
Shivering a little in a fur coat after her swim, she says: “I’m just interested in the extreme, in testing myself. I’m scared every time.”
She says she hasn’t been ill once over the winter.