jeremy_nicholl
fl_banya_©jeremynicholl_011ru107721.jpg
Moscow, Russia, December 1996-January 1997.
After years of neglect Sandunovskaya Banya, Russia's most famous public bath-house, has been restored to its former spendour. Located close to the Kremlin, the 100 year old baths used to be popular with Communist Party cadres. Today they are a favourite meeting place for Moscow's nouveau riche. The heart of the banya is the parilka, or steamroom, where bathers beat themselves and each other with veniki, bunches of birch leaves.
fl_banya_©jeremynicholl_011ru107721.jpg
Moscow, Russia, December 1996-January 1997.
After years of neglect Sandunovskaya Banya, Russia's most famous public bath-house, has been restored to its former spendour. Located close to the Kremlin, the 100 year old baths used to be popular with Communist Party cadres. Today they are a favourite meeting place for Moscow's nouveau riche. The heart of the banya is the parilka, or steamroom, where bathers beat themselves and each other with veniki, bunches of birch leaves.