"When you go out of the heat an into the extreme cool, and back from the extreme cool and into the hot, there is something that happens inside your body that is just so satisfying" – Vladimir von Tsurikov.

Sauna Talk is pleased to welcome Vladimir von Tsurikov. Director of The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) in Minneapolis, MN.

Vladimir has brought with him a passion for the advancement of Russian Art and Culture, and a strong record of international collaboration. Over the last ten years he co-organized and co-curated several exhibitions with Russian institutions in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Vladimir has published numerous articles and presented dozens of lectures both in the U.S. and Russia. In addition to releasing two research volumes, he has edited five volumes of a scholarly series Readings in Russian Religious Culture and continues to serve on a number of editorial boards. Vladimir also serves on the boards of the Russian Historical Society in the U.S. and the Russian Nobility Association in America. Vladimir received his Ph.D. in Russian History from the Moscow Theological Academy in 2011, and an M.A. in Russian language and literature in 2000 from Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT.

Our interview took place in the sauna at the Hewing Hotel, downtown, Minneapolis, MN. The Hewing Hotel's top floor set up features a brand new rooftop sauna. A very generously sized hot room space with transom windows overlooking the downtown skyline. We have easy access steps outside the hot room to the outdoor rooftop patio, where there is also a hot tub and fresh air chill out zone. The Hewing Hotel rooftop also offers separate Men's and Women's facilities, each equipped with showers, bathrooms, lockers. We also have a Nordic vibe spacious bar and patio area, offering signature drinks from local vendors including Tattersall Distilling, a micro distillery based down the elevator and a short bike ride away.

John Pederson made this event happen. You may know of John as founder of the 612 Sauna Society, the first cooperatively owned sauna organization in the United States. John is also partner of Sauna Society Builders, which is the organization hired by the Hewing Hotel to host community and cultural gatherings.

And this is what we did on a recent Friday night in Minneapolis. As others were swilling down their beer and cocktails at the neighboring bars and restaurants in Minneapolis, we were a group of folks enjoying a healthy sauna experience while learning more from Vladimir about the parallels of sauna, Finnish sauna, and Russian banya.

In this episode of sauna talk, you will get an understanding of Vladimir von Tsurikov's deep love and appreciation of the banya experience. How banya is a social and community gathering place as much as it is a wonderful wellness practice enjoyed by many ethnic communities in Russia and neighboring areas.

This episode will be especially interesting for those of us who enjoy learning about the authentic sauna experience as it relates to its offshoots and parallels with other cultures, in this case, specifically, the Russian banya.