The historical roots of the Russian bathing tradition have been lost over the centuries. She combined the customs of many peoples who settled on the Great Russian Plain. The bathhouse was originally part of a pagan custom. Ablution was compared with purification and rebirth - physiological and spiritual. Probably, the phrase “born again”, which is said after visiting the steam room, originates precisely in the pagan Slavic culture.
Hikes to the steam room with hot steam, fragrant brooms and contrasting procedures have been known since the tenth century in Russia, thanks to the chronicler Nestor. According to a number of historical sources, birch brooms were a revered "accessory" in those days. Sometimes they were part of the tribute given by the defeated tribes. The losing side undertook to knit brooms on an industrial scale and supply them to the conqueror.
Herodotus himself mentioned the love of the Scythians for herbs and infusions. Making incense was a woman's job. Lavender, cypress and cedar chips, chamomile and wormwood were used. The ingredients were ground, mixed with water and infused.
The result was a prototype of a modern shampoo, which was used to wash in Ancient Russia. Old Russian soap was washed off with hot water and soaked the skin with oils.
The approach of bath attendants of the past centuries to the construction of baths has been transferred to modern contractors. The peoples who occupied the southern territories of the Russian plain led a nomadic lifestyle. Due to the constant movement, there was no time to build a solid and solid bathhouse. Steam rooms were set right in the steppe - from poles, felt and a hastily constructed fire. The quality of materials and the reliability of the building did not arouse interest among the Scythians.
Black baths have become the hallmark of Russia for foreigners of the past centuries. They were captured by foreign travelers, including Adam Olearius. He describes the baths as low and buried in the ground. To enter the door, you had to bend over. The chimney was not provided - the smoke from the stove spread through the steam room. The radical method of heating led to the fact that the walls of the steam room were "overgrown" with a thick layer of soot and became black as coal.
The Russian tsars did not hide their love for the bathhouse either.
It is known that Peter the Great honored the bathing traditions and was an expert in them. Despite his love for the West and European order, the tsar did not want to part with Russian traditions. In the memoirs of Peter's contemporaries, memories are preserved that the tsar built a bathhouse in Holland with his own hands. Peter's company in the steam room was made up of prominent Russian and Dutch statesmen.
When building Petersburg, Peter the Great encouraged the construction of baths. He exempted citizens from paying construction fees. Empress Catherine II adopted Peter's approach. Under her, public city baths began to actively develop.
This decision helped not only to get rid of unsanitary conditions, but also laid the bath culture. The Moscow baths of Sila Sandunov became a monument of the era of Catherine.