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.

Dr. P.A. Smithe was sent by the American Red Cross as a doctor and surgeon to work at a hospital in Vienna. He sailed to Europe in December 1915 and returned home in August 1916, according to his daughter, who donated his images to the National World War I Museum. Photo: Turkish army, including cavalry, infantry and artillery. (Photo by Dr. P.A. Smithe/National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Mo.)

American actor and politician Ronald Reagan stands behind his wife, actor Jane Wyman, who sits down to dinner, circa 1940s. She is seated between two unidentified men, both in military uniforms adorned with Arms Qualification medals, the man on the right with Sharpshooter and Marksman badges and the man on the left, a Captain, with Expert and Sharpshooter badges. Reagan wears a military uniform with Cavalry branch insignia and Wyman wears a black dress with stranded pearl necklace, and a black hat with a veil. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Casket of Leibby Kletzky, a murdered eight-year-old boy who went missing from the Hasidic neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn is carried during a procession on July 13, 2011 in New York City. After a two day search Kletzky's dismembered body was found partially in a suitcase inside a dumpster and partially in a refrigerator in a nearby apartment. Police detectives have taken Levi Aron, 35, into custody in connection to the killing. (Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)

“Serebro (Серебро, Silver) are a Russian trio, formed in Moscow, Russia in 2006. Serebro is currently one of the most popular Russian bands. They are also famously known as the band who finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with the song “Song #1”. On 30 July 2011, Serebro premiered their eighth single, “Mama Lover” at Europa Plus Live. It is their third official English language release after “Song #1” and “Like Mary Warner”. On 15 September 2011, the music video for “Mama Luba” (Russian version of “Mama Lover”) was released”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Russian trio «Serebro», 2008

Dotty, a short-haired pointer belonging to Simon Kirby MP, devours a Parliament shaped cake watched by a jack russell Maximus (L) owned by Matthew Offord MP during the Westminster Dog of The Year competition in Victoria Tower Gardens on October 13, 2011 in London, England. The annual competition was won by Conservative MP for Tiiverton and Honiton Neil Parish with his Labrador Wilberforce, who was among the 15 Conservative MPs to enter versus only two Labour MP entrants. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)