A Russian man swims 25 meters under the ice at the world's deepest lake, Baikal, as part of a January tradition in the country.

After taking the plunge, he propels himself forward under the ice, and opts out of surfacing at a "halfway hole", instead deciding to do the whole length in one breath.

Aleksandr Shumskas, the swimmer, says that as he neared the end it was simply "scary, but not difficult."

"I concentrated so much that I didn’t feel any cold and the fear was dulled," he added.

In January it is traditional for Russian Orthodox Christians to take icy dips to mark Epiphany, or the baptism of Christ, which is celebrated on the 18th. The temperature on Friday was -12 degrees Celsius.

However, others, like Shumskas, take the plunge a little earlier in the year, when it would have been even colder.