Maslenitsa is a formerly pagan festival meant to hasten the arrival of spring, which was reinvented through the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church as a final chance to rejoice before the 40 days of Lent.

Nowadays, it is largely a winter folk festival for people who want to dance, eat pancakes, maybe wrestle a little, or climb a greased pole to show off. It typically ends with the burning of an effigy of winter.

The Saturday celebrations in the village of Nikola-Lenivets in Kaluga Region, however, took Maslenitsa to an entirely new level. Instead of an effigy, the centerpiece for the burning was a massive wicker gothic cathedral made from alder, complete with four towers with spires reaching as high as 30 meters.

The structure reportedly took 20 builders and three months to complete.