Swimming in Siberia

Swimming in Siberia

Krasnoyarsk, Russia
19 images
Advertisement

A winter swimming club in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk gathers young and old from all walks of life. They share a love of bracing, cold water. Siberian cold.

Nastya Usachyova, 9, and her mother Natalia, 39, warm up before swimming in the Yenisei River. Nastya, whose mother is a former world champion in winter swimming, first took to the icy water when she was two.

“I feel cold at first but I overcome it,” says Nastya. “Many of my friends and their parents say it’s impossible to bathe in the winter in the Yenisei River. They don’t approve.”

. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

With a small wooden clubhouse on the banks of the Yenisei River, the Cryophile winter swimming club - named after organisms that thrive in extremely cold temperatures - has about 300 members.

These swimmers say they, themselves, flourish in air temperatures that often reach 30 degrees Celsius below zero or lower in the long months of a Siberian winter.

Some members of the club say regular bathing in cold water has had a positive impact on their health. Yulia Klimenkova, 16, whose whole family are also members, says the cold water boosts her immunity and recently helped her get over a respiratory virus.

. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Aged from under one year old to 79, the members include school pupils, engineers and retired construction or water utility workers. The club’s spirit of fun includes pouring water on each other when celebrating Polar Bear Day at a zoo in a suburb of Krasnoyarsk, one of Siberia’s largest cities.

“The moment of immersion is a sensation of delight. Afterwards there’s a rush of energy and my entire body feels relaxed,” says Mikhail Sashko, chairman and one of the founders of the club. “My wife says I am crazy.”

. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Vladimir Khokhlov, 71, a former builder and now a pensioner, dates his passion for swimming in all weathers to a September day in 1990, the year the Cryophile club was founded. While on a fishing trip on the banks of the Yenisei, he got up one morning and felt inspired to jump in the river. He hasn’t stopped since.

“I can’t live without bathing daily in cold water, it’s like a drug,” says Khokhlov, who also works as a caretaker, maintaining ice levels on an outdoor hockey rink. “If there’s no river nearby I have to find another way to pour cold water over myself from head to foot.”

. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Nikolai Bocharov, 77, started winter swimming while doing military service in Germany. “When I came home from the army, I made an ice hole in the Yenisei and bathed there,” he says.

“I never feel any cold or discomfort and I can stay in cold water for a long time,” he adds. “When I leave the water I feel a prickling sensation all over my body, it feels like I am ready to fly.”

His family and friends struggle to see the appeal of taking a dip in the winter.

“My wife doesn’t understand me and doesn’t share this hobby of mine,” he says. “My friends sneer at me and wait for me to grow wiser.”

. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

For Mikhail Shakov, 23, sporting a traditional ushanka, or ear-hat, winter swimming is a way of disconnecting from daily life and setting his troubles to one side.

“All problems leave me,” says Shakov, who recently finished national service in the army. “The world around me seems beautiful.”

1 / 13

Slideshow

Nikolai Bocharov, 77, an amateur hunter and a member of the Cryophile winter swimming club, walks with his dog Laika and a gun in the Taiga district outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Bocharov started winter swimming while doing military service in Germany.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Nikolai Bocharov, 77, an amateur hunter and a member of the Cryophile winter swimming club, walks with his dog Laika and a gun in the Taiga district outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Bocharov started winter swimming while doing military service in Germany.

Young members of the Cryophile club throw snowballs, their trainer to the left, on the banks of the Yenisei River before swimming in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. The air temperature was around minus 1 degree Celsius.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Young members of the Cryophile club throw snowballs, their trainer to the left, on the banks of the Yenisei River before swimming in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. The air temperature was around minus 1 degree Celsius.

Women follow Mikhail Sashko (L), chairman and one of the founders of the Cryophile club, during a celebration of his 68th birthday in the Yenisei River. The air temperature was minus 27 degrees Celsius.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Women follow Mikhail Sashko (L), chairman and one of the founders of the Cryophile club, during a celebration of his 68th birthday in the Yenisei River. The air temperature was minus 27 degrees Celsius.

Mikhail Shakov (L), 23, who recently left the army and is a member of the Cryophile club, greets another member on the banks of the Yenisei River. The air temperature was some minus 27 degrees Celsius.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Mikhail Shakov (L), 23, who recently left the army and is a member of the Cryophile club, greets another member on the banks of the Yenisei River. The air temperature was some minus 27 degrees Celsius.

Mikhail Shakov, 23, enters the icy water of the Yenisei River on the first day after returning from military service. The air temperature was some minus 27 degrees Celsius.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Mikhail Shakov, 23, enters the icy water of the Yenisei River on the first day after returning from military service. The air temperature was some minus 27 degrees Celsius.

Mikhail Sashko, chairman and one of the founders of the Cryophile club, looks at a picture taken by Mikhail Shakov (R), as Sashko celebrates his 68th birthday on the banks of the Yenisei River. The air temperature was about minus 27 degrees Celsius.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Mikhail Sashko, chairman and one of the founders of the Cryophile club, looks at a picture taken by Mikhail Shakov (R), as Sashko celebrates his 68th birthday on the banks of the Yenisei River. The air temperature was about minus 27 degrees Celsius.

Liza Broverman, 6, and her sister Yulia Klimenkova, 16, members of the Cryophile club, play in the snow before bathing in the Yenisei River. The air temperature was around minus 16 degrees Celsius.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Liza Broverman, 6, and her sister Yulia Klimenkova, 16, members of the Cryophile club, play in the snow before bathing in the Yenisei River. The air temperature was around minus 16 degrees Celsius.

Visitors watch as Grigory Broverman pours a bucket of cold water over his 6-year-old daughter Liza.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Visitors watch as Grigory Broverman pours a bucket of cold water over his 6-year-old daughter Liza.

Members of the Cryophile club walk outside the wooden clubhouse on the banks of the Yenisei River in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Members of the Cryophile club walk outside the wooden clubhouse on the banks of the Yenisei River in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Members of the Cryophile club gather inside the wooden clubhouse on the banks of the Yenisei River.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin PICTURE 9 OF 21 - SEARCH "CRYOPHILE" FOR ALL IMAGES

Members of the Cryophile club gather inside the wooden clubhouse on the banks of the Yenisei River.

Nastya Usachyova (C), 9, a member of the Cryophile club, stretches during a dance class in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Nastya Usachyova (C), 9, a member of the Cryophile club, stretches during a dance class in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Mikhail Sashko, a director in the construction industry and one of the founders of the Cryophile club, speaks on the telephone in his office in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Mikhail Sashko, a director in the construction industry and one of the founders of the Cryophile club, speaks on the telephone in his office in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Mikhail Shakov, 23, who recently left the army and is a member of the Cryophile winter swimmers club, plays guitar to his girlfriend Svetlana Andreeva as they ride on a chairlift at the Bobrovy Log ski resort in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
. Krasnoyarsk, RUSSIA. Reuters/Ilya Naymushin

Mikhail Shakov, 23, who recently left the army and is a member of the Cryophile winter swimmers club, plays guitar to his girlfriend Svetlana Andreeva as they ride on a chairlift at the Bobrovy Log ski resort in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

More Stories

Back to Top