Valenki, worn for centuries in Russian villages, have come back into fashion thanks to an unlikely intruder – the trendy Australian brand Ugg A few years ago, Russian journalist Natasha Nemirova ...

Editor - Stakheev Vladimir, photos - Vadim Kantor, traditional Russian folk song - "Valenki" Valenki are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name valenok literally means ...

VYSHNY VOLOCHEK, RUSSIA — Here in this town of shuttered factories and stilled textile mills, a forgettable stop on the dreary stretch of bone-crunching road from Moscow to St. Petersburg, there lives ...

MOSCOW-As freezing temperatures are setting in, Russians are rediscovering an old winter staple-felt boots called valenki. Valenki are traditional winter footwear in Russia, prized for their ability ...

A female worker uses pieces of wood to shape dozens of traditional Russian felt boots in a small workshop in the little town of Soligalich, Kostroma region, about 370miles northeast of Moscow. Russian ...

Ivan Plakhuta lives in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk and makes traditional felt boots or valenki. He says many of the old makers, from whom he learned his craft, have died, but says demand for ...

As Belarus and much of Russia and Eastern Europe endure a cold snap, it's safe to assume that many people, especially in more traditional rural areas, are turning to the classic footwear known as ...

MOSCOW — Russia launched the first man in space, achieved near universal literacy and built superpower weaponry, but the real benchmark of civilization for many here is the solution to the problem of ...