Tarah Kayne and Daniel O'Shea of the U.S. perform during the Pairs short program at the Skate America figure skating competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin October 23, 2015. Fifty-six Olympic and world championship athletes are competing in the event, which is the first of six stops on the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

An indigenous woman participates in a parade called "International Indigenous Beauty" during the first World Games for Indigenous Peoples in Palmas, Brazil, October 24, 2015. Billed as the indigenous Olympics, the games are expected to attract nearly 2,000 athletes from dozens of Brazilian ethnicities, as well as from such far-flung nations as Ethiopia and New Zealand. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/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.

“Supanova Pop Culture Expo (Supanova) is a fan convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy film and TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables. It is held annually in the Australian cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Terminator and Wolverine pose for photos during the National Cosplay Championships as part of the Supanova Pop Culture Expo at the Dome at Olympic Park on June 19, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. Cosplayers and comic book and sci-fi fans from across the state gathered to meet like-minded folk and attend guest panels with the stars of some of the popular television shows and publications of the genre. (Photo by Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images)

A woman controls a ball on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 14, 2016. As hundreds of thousands of tourists begin descending on Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics that start August 5, the headlines have focused on the street violence, the Zika virus, the water pollution and the rush to finish venues and transport. But Rio, known by Brazilians as the “Marvelous City”, glistens despite it all. The beach is a way of life here. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Christ the Redeemer is seen from the Vista Chinesa (Chinese View) during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 4, 2016. Rio de Janeiro is a marvel and a mess all at once. When it hosts the first ever Olympics in South America, starting Aug. 5, visitors will see a city whose stunning topography – stark, verdant mountains loom over packed and playful beaches – competes only with the drama of daily life here. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

In this handout image provided by Perth 2011, HMB Endeavour, the replica of Captain James Cook's ship, is farewelled from Sydney Harbour accompanied by three Olympic class Laser yachts on April 16, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The ship was farewelled from Sydney to start her circumnavigation of Australia, ending up in Freemantle where she will play a role in the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in December. (Photo by Richard Palfreyman/Perth 2011 via Getty Images)

In this picture taken on October 28, 2017, former Japanese p*rn star Mana Izumi checks her new tattoo at a tattoo studio in Tsurugashima, Saitama prefecture. Tattoos still provoke deep-rooted suspicion in Japan as the country prepares to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. People with body ink are refused entry to public swimming pools, bathing spots, beaches and often gyms, while visible body art can be harmful to job prospects. (Photo by Behrouz Mehri/AFP Photo)