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Russia's Banya Houses

Russians visit bathhouses to hit themselves with twigs – all in the name of beauty.

Russians visit bath houses to hit themselves with twigs – all in the name of beauty. We go along to one of these banyas (Russian for baths) to find out why this age-old tradition is still widely practiced by young and old today.

Also on the show, we chat to the strong men competing at the Highland Games in Scotland, North England; and find out what a 26-year-old monk at the St Benedict Monastery in London, England, likes to do on his once-a-month night out.

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29 minutes

´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service Archive

This programme was restored as part of the World Service archive project