While the word фитнес and the concept of a fitness center entered Russian culture fairly recently, there has always been, and will always be (it seems) баня, the Russian bathhouse / sauna –a national pastime, a cultural myth, and, as many Russians will claim, a means of staying both clean and healthy. It is not, strictly speaking, a home remedy of the kind Professor Petrovsky is offered in Part Three of this chapter, but it‘s an important traditional institution of social life. So rather than running off to the movies when school has been canceled, as our characters do in Part Two, why not head to your friendly neighborhood баня?... Lest you arrive at a баня completely unprepared for the experience, let’s look at the popular wisdom collected on one of the many sites devoted to баня-going,

http://www.rusbanya.com/

1			The word ‘баня’ refers both to a public bathhouse that includes the Russian sauna and to the smaller sauna unit that could be part of a private residence. What kind of баня is this site devoted to? Clicking on the Russian flag will take you to a brief introduction which lists the objectives of the site’s authors. Scan the introduction to try to identify who these authors are and what they had in mind when they put the site together.
2			On the right-hand side of the page you should see a number of photographs. You can enlarge the images by clicking on them. Judging from these images, what does a typical баня look like?
3			As you will learn from the first paragraph of the description on this page, ‘sauna и русская баня – это разные вещи.’ A word of warning: this is a controversial subject for баня afficionados, and opinions on the precise way in which the two saunas are different vary widely among the Russians. Still, what explanation does this site offer? According to the beginning of the second paragraph, what is the key ingredient of the Russian баня (for now, just find the Russian word; we’ll discuss its meaning shortly).
4			The second paragraph mentions one other feature, without which a true баня еxperience is simply ‘unthinkable’ (немыслима). Read over the paragraph a few times and see if you can figure out what that item is. Since this is not a word you know, and since you probably don’t know the meaning of the word you identified in question 3 either, now is the time to click on the link (located at the top of the page) to the English version of this site. As you see, this version even has a handly illustration of that second item we mentioned. Having compared the Russian and the English versions of the description, what can you conclude are two key features of a proper баня?
5			A logical next question might be how the temperature and humidity are regulated in a баня. The list of links on the left-hand-side of the page should give you some idea. Once you’ve located the item in question on the English-language part of the site, go to the Russian version of that same page: what is the Russian word for that heating unit?
6			Yes, you might say, but what about that mysterious “bunch of bound twigs” which you read about while trying to answer question 4? What could it possibly be used for? The final two paragraphs of the page you should be on now are devoted to a more detailed description of what happens in a баня. Scan the two paragraphs to get a general sense of the description, then go to the English version of the page and read through it. This description should, we hope, alleviate the concerns of those who found the phrase ‘lash thoroughly’ in the English description of the веник somewhat ominous. Now go back to the Russian version and try to identify: what verb is used to describe what one does with a веник? You should recognize the root of the word – you just saw it in question 3. Judging from the meaning of that root, what purpose, might you conclude, is ‘веник-lashing’ meant to serve?

А ЧТО ДАЛЬШЕ?

7			Feel free to explore the links on the left-hand side of the page (in English or in Russian) for answers to your questions about the other aspect of баня-going and construction. For more information, pictures, and vintage баня lore, visit the more extensive “parent” site (there are links to it from most of the pages) http://www.parilka.ru/ Other баня-related sites include http://www.saunaworld.biz http://www.banbas.ru/