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 ...

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's epic winter is fast approaching, the time of year when traditional felt boots come out of hiding. No longer the standard cold-weather look merely for soldiers and street police, the ...

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 ...

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 ...