Why did Russian peasants wear BELTS in the bathhouse?

The belt was one of the main elements of clothing in Old Russia. Everyone's clothes were different, but absolutely everyone wore belts. The idiom ‘распоясаться’ (‘to unbelt oneself’) still exists today, meaning that a person without a belt is letting themselves go or running wild.

But, why wear a belt in the ‘banya’ (aka Russian bathhouse) directly on the naked body?

Among peasants, it was believed that the ‘banya’ was a place of encounters with unclean forces; evil spirits were expelled in it and purification took place. And the belt was perceived as a talisman, a protection from unclean spirits. Possibly because it created a closed circle. This belief appeared back in pagan times. And with the arrival of Christianity, in the ‘banya’, along with the belt, people also would not take off the cross worn around their necks.