A herder stops for reindeers to have a rest while riding along the tundra area in Nenets Autonomous District, Russia, November 27, 2016. In Russia's remote Arctic regions reindeer herding has been a way of life for centuries. Each winter herders in Russia's sparsely populated Nenets Autonomous District corral their reindeers into open-air pens before selecting weak animals to be culled... (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Bullet the bulldog skateboards in a seafront area in the city of Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific coast on August 9, 2021. The 6-year-old dog learnt how to skateboard two years ago thanks to his owner, Sergei Shukshuyev. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

A woman wearing face mask leaves a restaurant decorated with skeletons for the upcoming Halloween party, in Kiev, on October 26, 2021. Ukraine whose public health service is under-resourced reported that 734 coronavirus deaths in last 24 hours, the highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)

Pigeons walk in front of the Russian Foreign Ministry building (C) in Moscow on April 8, 2024. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Moscow's key diplomatic and economic partner China on April 8-9, his Ministry said in a statement. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

Young people jump over a bonfire as they take part in the Ivan Kupala Night celebration, a traditional Slavic holiday, outside the small town of Turov, some 270 km south of Minsk, on July 6, 2016. People celebrate Kupala Night with bonfires that last throughout the night with some leaping over the flames as it is believed that the act of jumping over the bonfire cleanses people of illness and bad luck. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)

Students of Kiev's Olympic College perform during a rally in front of the Parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine, 15 September 2020. Students were protesting against the reorganization of the college, at risk of being closed, and the land where it rises which could end up for sale along with the facility's stadium. (Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA/EFE)

In this undated photo released Tuesday April 13, 2021, by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, A Tu-160 strategic bomber of the Russian air force is shown on a training mission somewhere in Russia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday described a massive military buildup in western Russia as part of drills intended to check the armed forces' readiness amid the threats posed by NATO. (Photo by Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP Photo)