Meet The Russian Who Walks Around The City During The Coronavirus Pandemic

A man in the costume of a plague doctor walks along the Kaliningrad streets, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea. It is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic coast. The people look at the tall, thin figure in black with surprise.

h/t: bemorepanda

Vasily Lunev – 33, is married and works in his own workshop for sewing leather products. He wears a medieval doctor’s costume to demonstrate his skills and surprise people.

“I am interested in history, I participate in reconstruction festivals. The“ plague doctor ”character attracts me for many reasons. Most of all, I like that you can hide your face behind a mask with a beak,” Lunev explained.

Vasily’s costume consists of a leather apron, a shirt with a collar, a spacious hood, a mask and gloves.

“Doctors carried cones, bottles, amulets that rang when walking. They also had a knife and scissors. They didn’t have a medical education, they hired them to clean up the bodies of the dead, take tests, and forgive sins,” the man says enthusiastically.”

On the street, people have mixed reactions of my outfit. Sometimes passers-by shy away, sometimes laugh. Vasily complains that Kaliningrad is unfriendly to new things which are not the norm.

“Our people are more conservative than in St. Petersburg or Moscow. There, people notice me and my costume is expressing a healthy interest. However, when I walk on the streets of Kaliningrad, very often people advise, “to go to a psychologist or a priest,” Vasily shares.

Lunev emphasizes that his outfit has nothing to do with the coronavirus epidemic. He began to wear and wear it a couple of years ago.

“Yes, this is the first chemical protection suit in history, but it won’t save you from COVID-19. A mask with a beak unreliably isolates. According to current realities, a gas mask is better,” he informs.