March 05, 2026

Maslenitsa 2026: Russians Burned Their Heart


Maslenitsa 2026: Russians Burned Their Heart
Dancing in the darkness. Russian life image

During this year's annual Maslenitsa celebration effigy-burnings included, instead of a straw doll, several unusual objects, turning celebrations into a political performance. 

The tradition of burning an art-object instead of a straw "witch" was begun in 2001, with the famous Nikola-Lenivets landscape park in Kaluga Oblast. Each year, a symbolic image is chosen, the spectacular destruction of which becomes an act of collective therapy, from the installation “Project Russia” in 2007 to the “Vaccine Tower” in 2021.

Now, in the fourth year of Russia's War on Ukraine, a huge “Burning Heart” was created at Nikola-Lenivets, referring to the legend from Maxim Gorky's story, in which the story's hero burns his heart to light the way for people lost in the darkness. Considering that Nikolo-Lenivets has always been a hangout for liberal Muscovites, this performance can be seen as an act of mutual support in “dark” times. More explicit statements can be dangerous: for example, in 2022, a St. Petersburg resident who burned an effigy of a soldier was sentenced to almost four years in prison. 

Yet it is not only the opposition who use Maslenitsa to express their emotions. An effigy of Labubu was burned in Agramach Park in Lipetsk Oblast as part of a new tradition to destroy “hostile” Western toys during Maslenitsa. In 2023, Lipetskians set alight the monster Huggies, which had previously been at the center of a scandal as a toy that did not correspond to Russian “spiritual values.”

The most unexpected event this year was a performance staged in Irkutsk Oblast. On Maslenitsa eve, Russian pop star Yaroslav Dronov, known as Shaman, posted a video in which he licked the ice of Lake Baikal. The video was a provocative mix of eroticism and patriotism. In response, Irkutsk activists decided to burn an effigy of Dronov. This was explained as an action against the use of a “place sacred to indigenous peoples” for scandalous content. But, since Dronov is one of the most famous state-sponsored propagandists, the performance also seems to be a way of expressing dissatisfaction with Russian authorities.

More explicit demonstrations can only be done in exile.

You Might Also Like

With Mouths Sewn Shut
  • July 15, 2022

With Mouths Sewn Shut

Art is a powerful realm for protest. The Ukraine War has inspired a new wave of brave works.
A Pancake a Day...
  • March 17, 2024

A Pancake a Day...

A recommendation on how many pancakes you should eat during Maslenitsa.
Maxim Gorky
  • March 05, 2000

Maxim Gorky

The turbulent life of this Russian author {1868-1936}, his experience with oppression and involvement in the Russian revolution make him one of his country's most loved and important writers. Gorky was born March 28, 1868.
Painting Maslenitsa
  • March 03, 2019

Painting Maslenitsa

In which we look at how Russian painters have been inspired by Maslenitsa.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955