Throughout Russian history, the banya was used by all social classes within Russian society, including villagers and nobles. Since ancient times, the banya has been considered an important bonding place in Russian culture. The Portuguese António Nunes Ribeiro Sanches, court physician in Russia, acquainted western physicians with the effects of banya through his 1779 De Cura Variolarum Vaporarii Ope apud Russos Ĭultural significance in Russian culture Hence the soot and the term 'black bathhouses' ( chernaya banya). Once the fire is built, the bather then removes the fire and flushes out the smoke before beginning the bath. A stove in a corner is made of large round stones that, when heated, are lifted with iron rods and placed in a wooden tub. The original bathhouses were detached, low-lying wooden structures dependent on a fire lit inside to provide heat.

They make of the act not a mere washing but a veritable torment.' They think nothing of doing this every day, and actually inflict such voluntary torture on themselves. Then they drench themselves with cold water, and thus are revived. They actually lash themselves so violently that they barely escape alive. They warm them to extreme heat, then undress, and after anointing themselves with tallow, they take young reeds and lash their bodies. 'Wondrous to relate,' said he, 'I saw the land of the Slavs, and while I was among them, I noticed their wooden bathhouses. Supposedly the belief was held that Andrew crossed through East Slavic lands from the mouth of the Dnieper River, past the hills on which Kiev would later be founded, and went as far north as the ancient city of Novgorod. According to the Chronicle, or as it was called by its authors, The Tale of Bygone Years, the Apostle Andrew visited the territories that were later to become Russia and Ukraine during his visit to the Greek colonies on the Black Sea. men closed the bath-house behind them and Olga gave orders to set it on fire from the doors, so that the Drevlians were all burned to death.' Īn early description of the banya comes from the East Slavic Primary Chronicle of 1113. 'When the Drevlians arrived, Olga commanded that a bath should be made ready for them and said, 'Wash yourselves and come to me.' The bath-house was heated and the unsuspecting Drevlians entered and began to wash themselves. The leader of the Drevlians had hopes of marrying the widow Olga and sent messengers to discuss the idea. In the Russian language, the word banya may also refer to a public bathhouse, the most historically famous being the Sanduny ( Sandunovskie bani).Ī mention of the banya is found in the Radziwiłł Chronicle in the story of Princess Olga's revenge for the murder of her husband, Prince Igor, by the Slavic tribe of Drevlians in 945 AD. Genders were traditionally segregated in the banya, with separate rooms for each sex. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. The bath takes place in a small room or building designed for dry or wet heat sessions. It is considered an important part of Russian culture. Depiction in the mid-1920s of a rural banya by Russian artist Boris Kustodiev: Russian Venus (armed with birch besom) Parovozov, VIP public baths in NovosibirskĪ banya (Russian: баня, IPA: ⓘ) is originally a Russian steam bath with a wood stove. For the steam baths in other countries, see sauna.

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