A boy runs past military vehicles displayed in Patriot Park near the Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas on the eve of Orthodox Christmas in Kronstadt, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, January 6, 2025. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





People wearing festive costumes run during a race marking Orthodox Christmas in Moscow, Russia, on January 7, 2025. (Photo by Yulia Morozova/Reuters)





A mock-up of a missile with the inscription reading as “Towards Washington. Threatening U.S. territory is the path to victory” is seen on the roof of a car parked in front of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg on January 12, 2025. (Photo by Olga Maltseva/AFP Photo)





Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left,, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, center right, arrive to attend a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, January 17, 2025. (Photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Photo)





Lawyers Alexei Liptser (L) and Vadim Kobzev (2-L), who represented late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, stand inside a defense cage during a court hearing on charges of taking part in an “extremist organization”, in Petushki, Vladimir Region, Russia, 17 January 2025. The Petushinsky District Court sentenced three former Navalny lawyers to years in prison – Kobzev to five years and six months in a general regime penal colony, Liptser to five years in a penal colony, and Sergunin to three years and six months. The lawyers were detained in October 2023 and charged with participating in an “extremist community”. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)





A man plunges in icy water celebrating the Orthodox Epiphany in the Stroginskaya floodplain in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, January 19, 2025. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





A man with his son seen during the Epiphany bathing in a font on Bolshoy Pond. Epiphany bathing in Russia is a traditional religious rite held annually on January 19, the day of the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, when believers wash themselves in specially prepared places called Jordan's in a symbolic act of purification and spiritual renewal, marking the blessing of the waters and observing Orthodox traditions. (Photo by Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Participants perform during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





A man check his phone under decorations during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Participants perform a dragon dance during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





A participant performs during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





A dragon figure is seen in front of the Kremlin during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Students perform on stage during the ninth Chinese New Year School Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, February 3, 2025. St. Petersburg hosted its ninth Chinese New Year School Festival on Monday, as nearly 1,000 students and parents celebrated the Spring Festival with a vibrant cultural gala. Co-organized by the Chinese Consulate General in St. Petersburg and the local Confucius Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures, the gala is a flagship event of the city's “Happy Chinese New Year” celebrations. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





People walk on the Lomonosovsky bridge at Fontanka River during sunset in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, February 4, 2025. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Visitors stand in front of a a fragment of an artwork depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an exhibition, which is called “Yalta 2.0” and opened to make a reference to the 1945 Yalta Conference, at an art gallery in Livadia park in Yalta, Crimea, on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters)





Members of military historical clubs from more than 30 cities in Russia and Belarus dressed in Red army uniforms participate in the World War II battle reconstruction “For Stalingrad!” against Nazi Germany, near Srednyaya Akhtuba, Volgograd (former Stalingrad) region of Russia, Sunday, February 9, 2025. (Photo by AP Photo)





Participants of the Papenberg Island Bike Tour compete on a distance on the ice of Novic Bay of the Russian Island near Russian far east port in Vladivostok, Russia, Sunday, February 9, 2025, as temperatures reached around –5°C (23 °F) . (Photo by AP Photo)





A man takes photos via his smartphone while standing next to street decorations in Moscow, Russia, on February 13, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





A girl holds a balloon during Valentine's Day celebrations at the Riviera shopping mall in Moscow, Russia on February 14, 2025. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Russia's President Vladimir Putin visits a military plant of Uralvagonzavod research and production corporation in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil, Russia, on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik/Pool via Reuters)