In honor of the holiday, I present you with the new artwork for the series of "RWBY characters in Slavic folk costumes", sponsored by @carn-project.

The week of Maslenitsa has just started! It's a delicious Eastern Slavic folk holiday, especially famous for blini, syrniki, and the burning of the Lady Maslenitsa's effigy on Sunday.

Adam is wearing a Belarusian costume. And look, the ornaments have even moved to his mask! He's holding a mug of kvass, a traditional Slavic low-alcoholic beverage made of rye bread.

And Cinder has a very unique outfit – the traditional costume of Bistra, the region of Croatia. I managed to find this outfit while looking for an interesting winter version of the Croatian costume. The ornament on the eye patch is the red checkerboard, one of Croatia's national symbols.

Croats don't celebrate Maslenitsa, but they have a similar holiday called fašnik or poklade.

Belarusian Interiors - Andrej Liankievič

"Over the last 60 years, Belarus has undergone a profound transformation, with rapid urbanisation reshaping the demographic and cultural fabric of the country. Today, only 25% of the population live in rural areas and many villages are at risk of depopulation or abandonment. The rural interiors captured in my project are not only living spaces, but also repositories of memories and traditions. The embroidered textiles, hand-carved furniture and fading family photographs reflect a way of life that is disappearing. These houses were once the centre of family life, places where generations lived together, cared for each other and passed on traditions. Now that children are moving to distant cities, many older people have to spend their twilight years in isolation, often as widows. In Belarus, 74% of older women live alone.

The decline of the traditional Belarusian village is not just about physical space, but is also a story of cultural loss. Younger generations rarely use their parents’ rural home as a family centre and the intergenerational ties that once defined rural life are weakening. These frozen interiors are a poignant reminder of a way of life that was characterised by resilience, hard work and attachment to the land. But they also reflect the difficulties of ageing in solitude, where economic hardship, health problems and lack of support take their toll.

Дзяўчаты ў святочным верхнім адзенні. Пачатак XX ст. Станьковічы, Камянецкі раён

Girls in festive outerwear. Early 20th century. Stańkovičy, Kamianiec district