Solstice

Once a year on the summer solstice, hundreds of people gather on the shore of Lake Svetloyar, a place that according to the legend, served as a refuge for the first old believers after the schism of the Russian Orthodox Church in the middle of the 17th century.

Coincidence of calendar, the most famous pagan celebration of Ivan Kupala, correspond with the day of the icon of the Vladimir Divine Mother in the neighbouring village Vladimirskoe.

In the morning, the hundreds of believers from neighbouring villages join the pilgrimage from the Vladirmiskoe church to Svetloyar, laying down on the ground at the passage of the priests carrying the heavy icon of Our Lady of Vladimir. For the people who mostly came to the lake to enjoy a bath on a hot summer day, the opportunity to forgive their sins is unexpected, the mothers grab their children, husbands and granny's rushes to join the procession, throwing themselves on the ground.

For most people present, this day of Ivan Kupala is known for the pagan rituals of weaving wreaths, jumping over fires and bathing after sunset. In fact, the Russian Orthodox church has been trying to forbid the celebration at Svetloyar with the help of local police, for the last 20 years. But it became obvious that people would keep coming massively for the celebration in search of peace of mind and hoping for miracles.

At nightfall, the same people who threw themselves on the ground in the morning under the icon, gather with candles, ferns wreaths. In very mystical scenes reminiscent of Tarkovsky's Ivan Rublev, man, woman and children walk around the lake three times and bath in the in the purest water of Svetloyar to purify their body and soul.

Although this pagan celebration has lost its authenticity over the years and looks more like a hippie party with incense and singing, the number of people gathering each year to perform these ancient rites in exchange for hope continues to grow.

Some hope to find love, some for a child, others for the good health of a loved one and some dream of a life away from this heavy society in a more recluse region of Russia.

What is certain is that all gather as their parents and grandparents did on this date to feel the human warmth of this place. In the wait of less bleak days and rather than expecting a political change, they rely on the mysticism of Lake Svetloyar and whatever rites or beliefs in the hope of a miracle.