An Alitalia plane approaches to land as starlings fly at Fiumicino international airport in Rome October 14, 2013. Italy will have to notify a planned government-led 500-million-euro bailout of near-bankrupt airline Alitalia to EU regulators who will then assess whether the measure complies with EU state aid rules, the European Commission said on Monday. (Photo by Max Rossi /Reuters)

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 reveller holds a sign reading “2020BYE” as a small number of people begin celebrating New Year's Eve at the Sydney Harbour waterfront amidst tightened COVID-19 regulations in Sydney, Australia, December 31, 2020. (Photo by Loren Elliott/Reuters)

A civilian trains to throw Molotov cocktails to defend the city, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Zhytomyr, Ukraine March 1, 2022. (Photo by Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)

Young Lebanese women wearing protective masks and gloves against the coronavirus pandemic, stand on August 5, 2020 amid the rubble in Beirut's Gimmayzeh commercial district which was heavily damaged by the previous day's powerful explosion that tore through Lebanon's capital, resulting from the ignition of a huge depot of ammonium nitrate at the city's main port. Rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut after a cataclysmic explosion at the port sowed devastation across entire neighbourhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis. The blast, which appeared to have been caused by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate left unsecured in a warehouse, was felt as far away as Cyprus, some 150 miles (240 kilometres) to the northwest. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

People of the LGBTQI community pose for a photo on a large rainbow colored flag as they take part in the parade to mark Thailand Pride Festival 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 27 November 2022. Thailand's LGBTQI groups and foreigners attended the Pride festival to raise awareness and promote sexual diversity and equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. The festival also aims to promote tourism in Thailand as Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, with hopes to becomes an annual and sustainable event in November. (Photo by Narong Sangnak/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Participants in costumes pose before a Halloween parade in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan on October 28, 2018. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

The Arabian mare “Jenny” curiously sniffs at the child of Raphael Wöllstein, who is on his way to the train, on her daily walk through the Fechenheim district of Frankfurt, Germany on March 8, 2019. Her owner opens the stable door for the 22-year-old horse every morning. Then the animal can decide for itself where it wants to spend the day. So that nobody thinks she's escaped, a sign with the inscription “My name is Jenny, didn't run away, just go for a walk” is on the halter. (Photo by Boris Roessler/dpa)