Ground personnel work next to the Soyuz TMA-13M capsule of the International Space Station (ISS) crew of Alexander Gerst of Germany, Maxim Suraev of Russia and Reid Wiseman of the U.S. after its landing near the town of Arkalyk in northern Kazakhstan November 10, 2014. A veteran Russian cosmonaut and two International Space Station crewmates, one from the United States and one from Germany, returned safely to Earth on Sunday with a parachute landing of their Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan, ending 5-1/2 months in orbit. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

Most Russians intending to vote for Vladimir Putin in Sunday's election say stability is at the root of their faith in their candidate – though many young voters believe it's time for a change of leader. Putin, 65, is expected to win a fourth term in office with 69 percent of the vote, according to the latest survey by a state-run pollster. Reuters correspondents and photographers who travelled around the country talking to voters ahead of the March 18 election found nothing to contradict expectation of an emphatic Putin victory. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

17 people were photographed by Reuters apparently casting ballots at more than one polling station Sunday during Russia’s presidential election in the town of Ust-Djeguta, southern Russia. Many appeared to be state employees, and some showed up in groups and in mini buses bearing the names of state-provided services. Voting twice is a misdemeanour under Russian law and those caught are heavily fined. But when shown these pictures, election commission member Leila Koichuyeva said: “They could be twins”. Here are a few. (Photo by Reuters/Staff)

The song is presented in this publication in two different executions. The first (performed by monastic chorus) – classical, but bad. The second – national, good. Enjoy.

SEE ALSO: “Three Remarkable Cossack Songs + Bonus”

“Philippe Halsman (2 May 1906 Riga, Russian Empire – 25 June 1979 New York City) was a Latvian-born American portrait photographer. Many celebrities photographed by Halsman include Alfred Hitchcock, Judy Garland, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Dandridge, and Pablo Picasso. Many of those photographs appeared on the cover of Life. In such photos, he utilizes a variety of his rules of photography. For example, in one of his photos of Winston Churchill, the omission of his face makes Halsman's photo even more powerful at making Churchill more human”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Marilyn Monroe, “Jumpology”, 1959. Photo by Philippe Halsman

Igor Shpilenok works in the reserve at Kamchatka, Russia. Igor is a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and a winner of the 2006 BBC Wildlife Photographer Competition. Igor’s work has been published in numerous international and Russian magazines, including Smithsonian, National Wildlife, Geo, and BBC Wildlife.

“How does a bear behave when encounter a human? In most cases he runs away. But before running he almost always would rise to stand on his rear feet. And this behavior does not indicate the attack, as many people think...” – Igor Shpilenok. (Photo by Igor Shpilenok via Wildlife Photo Russia)

In this image released on October 1, Russian model Irina Shayk is seen onstage during Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 presented by Amazon Prime Video at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California; and broadcast on October 2, 2020. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 Presented by Amazon Prime Video)

Police detain a woman protesting against the court verdict for Yuliy Boyarshinov, and Viktor Filinkov, members of a left-wing group Set (Network) at the Western regional military court in St.Petersburg, Russia, Monday, June 22, 2020. A Russian military court convicted two members of a left-wing youth group of terrorism Monday and sentenced them to prison terms of five and a half and seven years, in a case that human rights groups called fabricated and based on coerced testimony. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)