May 21, 2021

Security Snoops on Banya Bathers


Security Snoops on Banya Bathers
Maybe leave your shorts on. Smarticvs, Wikimedia Commons

A court case in the Ural city of Perm demonstrates that we really aren't too far from where Orwell predicted we might be.

Video from the interior of a Russian Banya has surfaced in the trial of a group of Jehovah's Witnesses. Russia's state security service and the successor to the KGB, the FSB, used a hidden camera to capture JW meetings taking place in bathhouses. As a result, five persons received suspended sentences.

Understandably, the move has angered human rights groups worldwide, as well as banya-goers who now have reason to be a little more bashful when thwacking their naked friends with birch sticks.

Jehovah's Witnesses have long been viewed with suspicion in Russia, and fell under greater scrutiny with the passage of a 2017 law against "religious extremism" both Christian-derived and not. Banyas are often used to perform JW baptisms, an important ritual for the group.

So maybe do a sweep the next time you head to the banya to scrub your buddies.

You Might Also Like

Auditing the Soul of Russia
  • September 01, 1997

Auditing the Soul of Russia

In light of a hotly-debated law on religion, Russia is asking itself just how many faiths are enough. Mikhail Ivanov talked to people on both sides of the barricades and comes away with some interesting conclusions.
Bath Day in Sheshurino
  • September 01, 2017

Bath Day in Sheshurino

“On Saturdays, smoke drifts over the village. The banyas are being heated.” Let’s go!
Hot Fuzz
  • March 17, 2020

Hot Fuzz

An Archangelsk police chief is in hot water for using his subordinates to build a banya.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955