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Vladimir Putin Strips For Ice-Cold Dip During Religious Ceremony

Vladimir Putin Strips For Ice-Cold Dip During Religious Ceremony

Vladimir Putin braved freezing temperatures for an ice-cold dip as part of the Russian Orthodox Church’s traditional celebration of Epiphany.

Videos and photographs showed the 65-year-old Russian president wearing a sheepskin coat while walking up to a hole that had been cut into the ice of Lake Seliger on Friday.

ALEXEY DRUZHININ via Getty Images

Putin stripped to his bathers and walked down some wooden steps into the water, which a cleric had blessed.

Sputnik Photo Agency / Reuters
Alexei Druzhinin via Getty Images
Sputnik Photo Agency / Reuters

Putin then crossed himself and briefly submerged his entire body under the water to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ, as the Russian Orthodox Church does each year on Jan. 19.

Sputnik Photo Agency / Reuters
ALEXEY DRUZHININ via Getty Images
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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.