A pro-democracy demonstrator fights with a Soviet soldier on top of a tank parked in front of the Russian Federation building on August 19, 1991, after a coup toppled Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The same day, thousands in Moscow, Leningrad, and other cities answered Russian Republic President Boris Yeltsin's call to raise barricades against tanks and troops. (Dima Tanin/AFP/Getty Images)

Vladislav Doronin and Naomi Campbell attend the religious ceremony of the Royal Wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco to Princess Charlene of Monaco in the main courtyard at the Prince's Palace on July 2, 2011 in Monaco. The Roman-Catholic ceremony follows the civil wedding which was held in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace of Monaco on July 1. With her marriage to the head of state of the Principality of Monaco, Charlene Wittstock has become Princess consort of Monaco and gains the title, Princess Charlene of Monaco. Celebrations including concerts and firework displays are being held across several days, attended by a guest list of global celebrities and heads of state. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

“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”. – Yahoo News. Photo: Hungary, MAV 424 Steam Train. (Photo by Rebecca Bathory)

New Yorkers celebrate Joe Biden winning the presidency at Washington Square Park on November 7, 2020. (Photo by Amy Lombard for NBC)

A model presents a creation from the Versace Spring/Summer 2022 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 24, 2021. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

Gianluca Pardelli is something of an expert on markets. For the past two years, he’s travelled across eastern Europe, from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan, Moldova to Georgia, photographing them. Here: Telavi, Georgia. (Photo by Gianluca Pardelli)

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.

Roped up climbers leave the summit of Breithorn at 4,164 metres (13,661 feet) on the ridge marking the border with Switzerland (left) and Italy in the Alpine resort of Zermatt August 4, 2014. Switzerland will vote on November 30 on an initiative from the group Ecopop which proposes a cap on the number of immigrants. The group says it is motivated by concerns about a lack of living space exerting too much pressure on the land and natural resources, rather than by opposition to foreigners. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)