Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A gallery assistant at the Saatchi Gallery admires a sculpture by artist Dirk Skreber entitled “Untitled (Crash 1)” on May 26, 2011 in London, England. The sculpture features in the Saatchi Gallery's exhibition, “The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture” which showcases work from 20 international artists. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

A woman views the Mummy of Meresamun in the Ashmolean Museum's new exhibition of artifacts from ancient Egypt and Nubia on November 23, 2011 in Oxford, England. The new gallery is displaying for the first time in decades some of the finest Egyptian and Nubian artifacts in the UK. The Egyptian collection opens to the public from November 26, 2011. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

An employee looks at the artwork “4-Chlorephenol, 2008”, part of the artist Damien Hirst's exhibition “The Complete Spot Paintings” at the Gagosian Gallery on January 12, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

A cameraman films “Diana And Callisto” (circa 1556-59) oil painting by Venetian artist Titian as it goes on display for the first time at the National Gallery on March 1, 2012 in London, England.(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A sculptural artwork depicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and headless presidents shot by a hooded high school student (not pictured) is seen at the Contemporary Art Museum in Santiago, December 2, 2014. The artwork, part of the “El ladrillo angular” (The angular brick) exhibition, portrays a student fighting against the ongoing continuity of dictatorship because of a political and economic system which has been impossible to destroy, according to “Papas Fritas” the artwork's creator. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.