Russian Police academy female cadets march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 7, 2014. Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russia's most important secular holiday celebrated on May 9. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

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.

A woman aims a World War II machine gun at a military show during celebration of the Defenders of the Fatherland Day in St.Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, February 23, 2016. The day, celebrated in Russia on February 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Mini-pigs perform during the presentation in Balashikha, Russia on December 19, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A female brown bear with cubs fishing on Lake Kronotskoye as part of the South Kamchatka, Russia on Sanctuary, August 13, 2017. (Photo by TASS/Barcroft Images)

School leavers celebrate their graduation in Moscow's Red Square in Moscow, Russia on June 20, 2019. (Photo by Artyom Geodakyan/TASS)

A view shows a church in front of a high-rise apartment building in Saint Petersburg, Russia on October 30, 2019. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Cars slowly move along a bridge in traffic jam in central Moscow, Russia on December 11, 2018. (Photo by Yuri Kadobnov/AFP Photo)