In this Thursday, May 8, 2014 photo, Iranian coal miners push metal carts to be loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 212 kilometers (132 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran. International sanctions linked to the decade-long dispute over Iran's nuclear program have hindered the import of heavy machinery and modern technology in all sectors, and coal mining is no exception. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

A woman holds a placard that reads, “I am Charlie”, during a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of a shooting by gunmen at the offices of weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, at Trafalgar Square in London January 7, 2015. (Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)

A devotee holds incense sticks while celebrating the Sindoor Jatra Festival on April 15, 2015 in Thimi, Nepal. Sindoor Jatra Festival is celebrated each year in Thimi, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to welcome the Nepali New Year and celebrate the coming of spring. During the Festival, devotees are smeared with vermillion powder and 30 chariots containing the images of several gods and goddesses are carrying by the devotees around the town, while others sing, dance and play musical instruments. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)

Migrants rush as they try to get on a train heading to the border with Serbia at the train station of Gevgelija, on the Macedonian-Greek border, on August 9, 2015. Non-EU Serbia's frontier with Hungary, which is in the bloc's passport-free Schengen zone, has become a major crossing point for the huge numbers of migrants entering the EU. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

South Sudanese wrestlers take part in a wrestling match for peace in Juba on April 19, 2016. The last wrestling match for peace was held in Juba the day before civil war broke out in December 2013. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Jockeys spur buffalos during the Makepung buffalo races at Jembrana in Bali, Indonesia on October 23, 2016. Makepung is a tradition for farmers to celebrate a bumper harvest in Bali. (Photo by Kadek Raharja/Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

A man passes by an unfinished street art graffiti made in a stairway by French street artists Zag and Sia in Paris on March 1, 2016. The two artists drew inspiration from famous “Liberty Leading the People” (La Liberte guidant le peuple) painting by French Eugene Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and viewed as a symbol of the French Republic. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)