Russia's answer to Father Christmas. By Paul Sussman, CNN.com Europe writer. LONDON (CNN) -- Who has a long white beard, rides around in a sleigh and gives presents to children at Christmas time?

In 1928, Ded Moroz was banished into exile having been “unmasked as an ally of the priest and the kulak [supposedly rich peasants who the communist party considered a threat to their power ...

Other differences are that Ded Moroz rests on Christmas Eve but distributes gifts at the New Year and he rides in a troika - or sleigh - drawn by horses (although he has sometimes been spotted ...

Ded Moroz. Ded Moroz is Russia's Father Frost, who brings presents on New Year's Eve. He looks a lot like his Western counterpart, minus the elves and reindeer ...

Several area children received an unexpected visit this Christmas Day from Ded Moroz and his granddaughter, Sngurochka.Ded Moroz, which means “Father Frost,” a figure very similar to Santa ...

Konstantin Leschenko has been working as a Ded Moroz, or Grandfather Frost, for six years. Every festive season he dons his red coat, attaches his artificial beard and sets off to wish a happy New ...

Pickles are the traditional accompaniment to vodka, be they pickled forest mushrooms, cucumbers, or tomatoes from the dacha (or the jar in the Russian store).

The ancestral estate of Ded Moroz is situated in a pine forest 15 km (9.32 mi.) from one of the most beautiful towns in the Russian North, Veliky Ustyug (about 450 km [280 mi.] northeast of ...

Russia's Santa Claus train, shown above, sees Ded Moroz, the Russian Santa, travel throughout the country to visit children during the holiday season. The train will travel over 20,000 miles this ...

Ded Moroz, spotted in St. Petersburg, December 2005 (epa) Two great Christmas traditions met on the border of Estonia and Russia on 28 December, when Santa Claus walked to the middle of a border ...

Ded Moroz, or Grandfather Frost, who is Slavic version of Santa Claus marks his birthday on November 18. Grandfather Frost is traditionally accompanied by Snegurochka, or Snow Maiden, his ...