Storm the castle! Hundreds of Russians hurl snowballs and ‘attack’ a huge fortress as they celebrate the end of winter at religious festival
- Hundreds clamber over each other as they try to storm the ice castle
- They are attempting to recapture Lady Maslenitsa, the symbol of the festival
- The annual celebration marks the start of Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Hundreds of revellers have stormed an ice castle and hurled snowballs at each other as part of a religious festival in Russia.
The annual celebration, taking place in a forest near Moscow, sees hundreds clambering over each other to scale the walls of the huge castle.
Those defending the walls push the attackers down to prevent them climbing through the icy battlements.
Revellers storm a snow castle as part of the annual religious celebration of Maslenitsa in Moscow
The aim is to protect or capture the straw effigy placed at the top of the castle who represents Lady Maslenitsa.
When one person reaches the top of the castle, it is then ‘surrendered’ and the doll is burned, celebrating the end of winter.
The festival-goers dance around Lady Maslenitsa as she is pushed through the crowd.
The festival is an Eastern Slavic religious holiday celebrated by Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.
It signals the end of winter and the arrival of Great Lent and is also known as Pancake Week.
Different regions celebrate the festival differently but it often features Lady Maslenitsa.
In Kaluga in western Russia, the theme was the French Revolution and people burned a wooden tower representing the Bastille prison.
The holiday is celebrated across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and marks the end of winter and the start of Great Lent
In the mock siege, people try to climb up the walls of the castle to retrieve the Maslenitsa Doll
The straw effigy is passed through the crowd and people dance in rings around it as part of the week-long celebration
Petr Sterlikov, who filmed the spectacular siege, said: ‘The game is that a bear kidnapped the Maslenitsa Doll and does not want to give it away.
‘A warlord summons an army, and then everyone storms the fortress.
‘The fortress is considered surrendered when at least one person manages to climb over the wall.
‘When they take the fortress, the doll is taken to the centre of the glade and burned, thereby saying goodbye to winter and calling for spring.
Every years Maslenitsa is celebrated differently.