Besides being the season of vacations, swimming, toiling at the dacha and other pleasures, summer in Russia is the time when the country's urban residents visit public baths, or banyas, more frequently. Why? One might think it more logical for banya season to coincide with the cold Russian winter.

The explanation is simple: Every summer, the country experiences a planned rolling switch-off of the hot water supply to apartments. Rooted in the Soviet era, this practice is still alive and, unfortunately, things are not getting any better. According to existing regulations on utility supplies, the no-hot-water period, called a "prophylactic" break, cannot exceed 21 days, but in many residential blocks it may be as long as a whole summer.

Banya connoisseurs have an additional motivation for indulging in their favorite pastime, while those who normally prefer to shower at home have no choice but to join their ranks. Predictably, summer is when banyas make their best profits.

Finns are crazy about sauna, the Japanese praise their sentos and Turks boast about their baths. Russians have their own national pride - the "Russkaya banya," or the Russian steam bath. Like Pushkin, Tolstoy, vodka and dachas, the banya is sacred for Russians. Those who don't like banyas or just can't understand its pleasures usually prefer to keep their opinions to themselves. Featured in numerous movies, songs, poems and books, the banya is much more than just a place to remove dirt from your body. It is a craze and a lifestyle. Of course, those who come to the banya out of necessity cannot properly appreciate and enjoy all its pleasures.

In the Soviet era, visiting a banya cost from 20 kopeks to 2 rubles per hour, depending on the quality of equipment and services. Common banyas were widespread, but most were very shabby, with services limited to a checkroom, a shower room - a large room with washstands and shower units - and a steam cabinet. There were, however, a dozen top-end banyas in Moscow, the most famous being the Sandunovskiye, built in 1808. Moscow historical essayist Vladimir Gilyarovsky wrote that the Sandunovskiye banya used to be the hangout of Moscow's artistic elite. It has preserved its status as a top venue and is visited by politicians, celebrities, businessmen and bohemians.

If you open a guidebook on banyas in Moscow today, you will see that they have developed into full-fledged entertainment centers offering - in addition to banyas - saunas, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, massage and beautician services and many seemingly unrelated things such as bars, restaurants, billiards, DVD theaters and karaoke. And many of them are open round-the-clock.

Those with money prefer to have their own steam baths in annexes of their estates, to which they invite their friends. These are truly luxurious "temples of steam" that are sometimes furnished in the bizarre and eclectic styles characteristic and indicative of the taste of New Russians.