Shirtless Putin takes icy plunge to mark Epiphany
President’s religious ritual also bolsters macho mythos.
The president appears healthy.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin dipped into frigid waters early Friday at a lake in northwestern Russia to mark the Orthodox observance of the Epiphany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.
The president arrived for the pre-dawn ceremony flanked by journalists with video cameras and monks holding gold icons depicting Jesus and Mary Magdalen, then strode to a wooden platform cut into frozen Lake Seliger. He lowered himself into the water, made a sign of the cross and submerged for a moment, in a scene captured by state media. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the water was about 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
Russians observe the feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 19, rather than Jan. 6, as in the West, because they follow the Gregorian calendar, which observes Christmas on Jan. 7.
The ceremony to purify the spirit drew half a million worshippers to natural and artificial pools at 4,000 sites across Russia on Friday, the government-run Channel One reported — including some who took a dip in the sea at Sochi and others who plunged into minus-58 degree waters in remote Yakutia. That region holds the title of the world’s coldest permanently occupied village.
The devotional moment represented another barechested media day for Putin, a leader who oversees a corrupt political system, imprisonment and torture of gays, ongoing harassment of and violence against journalists and apparent involvement in U.S. election meddling, but also a public relations operation to sustain the mythos of his machismo.
Putin has garnered wide attention for photos and video footage of him shirtless on horseback, shirtless fishing, shirtless hunting and now, shirtless worshipping.
This is not the first time Putin has taken part in the Epiphany ceremony, although it is the first publicly viewed occurrence, Peskov said. That may represent an effort to appeal to religious voters ahead of the March presidential election.