Festival participants, dressed in costumes, marched in the centre of the town and after some activities and friendly competitions burned the effigy of Maslenitsa.

Burning the effigy marks the end of winter and was believed to fertilize the soil and bring a good harvest in the upcoming autumn. Maslenitsa is celebrated during the last week before the Christian festival of Lent and is a last chance in the upcoming weeks to eat dairies and meat that are forbidden during the upcoming fasting.

Maslenitsa week began as a pagan ritual and has since been absorbed into the Russian Orthodox Christian tradition.