What is the difference between the sauna and the Russian bath – banya?
A. The Russian banya has nothing to do with the Finnish sauna, unless we take into account that both have heat. First of all, the temperature in the banya is not allowed more than 75°, at the same time the humidity may reach 70 %, which is otherwise in the sauna, where there temperature may reach 130° while the humidity does not exceed 5-10%. Secondly, the Russian banya does not allow any exhaust ventilation – otherwise all the salubrious vapour will be released. As for the sauna though, it is merely impossible to stay in it without the exhaust ventilation, as the heat would be simply unbearable. In the sauna, the person sweats due to high temperature, having his or her body system heated only superficially, for you can hardly remain there for long, whereas in the Russian banya your body gets heated to the bones, due to the steam and the bunch of twigs, normally of birch, used to slash the body. The human body experiences a stress in the sauna, since neither the temperature, nor the hu
