This Saturday, services where held at St. Sophia Cathedral marking the end of the week following Easter (known as Bright Week). During the service, believers walked around the church singing and proclaiming “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” The Cathedral of St. Sophia is one of the oldest churches in Russia, constructed from 1045 to 1052. Here’s a short video from the outdoor part of the service.
According to the Itar-Tass news agency, more than 6 million Russians took part in Easter celebrations this year. President Putin and other government officials marked the holiday by attending ceremonies in Moscow. Putin also used the occasion to return the long-lost icon “Our Lady of Vladimir” to the Russian Patriarch. Putin declared that the state is determined to return as many stolen relics to the Russian Orthodox Church as possible as well as help rebuild churches and monasteries.
A few weeks ago, Russians celebrated Maslenitsa or âPancake weekâ?. Yuri Timofeyev has published a wonderful series of photos from a Maslenitsa party in the forest near Moscow. Here are a few examples of the photos he took at the event. Make sure to view the entire series at Flickr.
In a small village called Verkhnie Mandrogi, not far from St. Petersburg, you can find the Museum of Russian Vodka. This museum features over 2600 different kinds of Russian vodka. Bottles range from the ordinary to the extraordinary. You can see vodka in bottles shaped like guns, swords, crowns, and even statues. Here are a few pictures of the museum.
Stuffed Russian bear near the entrance to the museum.
