This year tourists and Moscow citizens will not witness the tradition of putting the Maslenitsa effigy of fire at the main Maslenitsa celebration of Moscow at Vasilyevsky Slope near Red Square. Maslenitsa (Pancake Week) is the only purely Russian holiday dating back to pagan times. On the last day of Maslenitsa people burn the effigy symbolizing winter to mark the beginning of spring.
      
      However, this year the Moscow Tourism Committee says no to the longstanding tradition considering it to be not politically correct. “It is not humanist in the 21st century”, - as the chairman of the committee Grigory Antyufeev explains. Instead of burning, it is planned to repaint the Maslenitsa effigy to give it a “springy” look.
      
      At the same time, all other Maslenitsa celebrations in different Russian cities and districts of Moscow will follow the tradition of the effigy burning as the state organs have nothing to do with organization of such celebrations.
      
      Source: news.turizm.ru