⭐️ "Alice in Wonderland."
Part 3

(Part 1 is here)
(Part 2 is here)

It’s a Soviet three-part animated film based on the fairy tale of the same name by English writer Lewis Carroll, shot in 1981 at the Kievnauchfilm studio (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). The cartoon is a screen adaptation not specifically of Lewis Carroll's original book, but of the first edition of its translation by Nina Demurova.

📌#MovieTime@TCofRus

🌏🇷🇺 Gorgeous Kazan in the evening

🚗 Kazan is a city in southwest Russia, on the banks of the Volga and Kazanka rivers. The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a semi-autonomous region, it's known for the centuries-old Kazan Kremlin, a fortified citadel containing museums and sacred sites. Kremlin landmarks include the tiered Tower of Soyembika, the blue-and-gold domed Annunciation Cathedral and the vast, colorful Kul Sharif Mosque.

Video: salo.watt

#ILoveRussia!❤️
🏡 #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

Russian banyas have been around since the 5th–6th centuries. According to chronicler Nestor, bathing rituals date back to the 5th century—they were called lazni, movni, and mylni.

For Slavs, banya rituals carried deep spiritual meaning. It wasn't just about washing up and sweating it out; they performed all sorts of mystical rites too. For instance, hitting the banya before a wedding was a must, complete with special ceremonies. People would chat, shake off bad vibes, and before weddings, they'd do rituals for a long, happy life.

Russia's first banyas were small and "black"—heated without chimneys. Massive stone stoves kept the heat in for hours after firing up. Later came "white" banyas with smoke pipes on the stoves.

Everyone hit the banya, from boyars and princes to regular folks. They'd fire it up once a week, usually Saturdays. The idea that everyone's equal in the banya stems from the old Russian custom of bathing together—regardless of social status or gender.

Worth noting: back in ancient Rus, mixed-gender banyas were banned for a long time—Ivan the Terrible cracked down on that. By the 1700s, public banyas had separate days for men and women.

That urge to "crank up the heat" has always been a hallmark of the Russian soul. They'd sweat like it was their last time, especially in brutal frosts paired with snow dives or ice-hole plunges. Those contrasts kept the body in top shape.

Banyas have been a Russian power spot since time immemorial—places to give birth, hold funerals, and heal.

Birching the whole body with oak or birch whisks is real massage work: boosts circulation, opens pores, ramps up sweating. Peter the Great, pushing banya-building, said, "Elixirs are fine, but banyas are better." We still love 'em today—they cleanse body and soul, and you sleep like a baby after.

🤭 #RussianCulture@TSofRus