Pillars of light, which are optical atmospheric phenomena, beam up from the ground into the sky behind residential buildings in Omsk, Russia on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)





Participants lay flowers near the Eternal Flame memorial as they gather in Glory Square the day after Russia's Defence Ministry stated that 63 Russian servicemen were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on their temporary accommodation in Makiivka (Makeyevka) in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine, as people attend a ceremony in memory of Russian soldiers killed in the course of Russia-Ukraine military conflict, in Samara, Russia on January 3, 2023. (Photo by Albert Dzen/Reuters)





Honour guards fire a farewell salute during a ceremony in memory of Russian soldiers killed in the course of Russia-Ukraine military conflict, the day after Russia's Defence Ministry stated that 63 Russian servicemen were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on their temporary accommodation in Makiivka (Makeyevka) in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine, in Glory Square in Samara, Russia on January 3, 2023. (Photo by Albert Dzen/Reuters)





Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a videoconference with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, on a tv screen, and Igor Krokhmal, commander of the frigate named “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov”, right on a tv screen, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Putin on Wednesday sent a frigate off to the Atlantic Ocean armed with hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles. (Photo by Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Photo)





Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivers a Christmas service in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Friday, January 6, 2023. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/Pool)





This photograph shows the full moon also known as Wolf moon behind a Christmas and New Year's decoration in Moscow on January 7, 2023. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





People enjoy swimming at the Chayka open-air swimming pool in Moscow on January 9, 2023. Moscow continues to brave cold weather and saw night temperatures up to minus 25 degrees Celsius in the past days, according to weather reports. But the frost has never stopped guests of the iconic pool. The Cayka pool was built in 1957 by architect Boris Topaz and designer Yuri Dykhovichny. That time the facility was used by the USSR swimming team to prepare for competitions. Nowadays the Chaika is a health and fitness center with two outdoor pools for adults – 50 meters and 25 meters – and a children's pool. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Photo)





People covered for warm walk near the ice copy St. Basil's Cathedral in downtown of Moscow, Russia 09 January 2023. The temperatures in Moscow dropped to minus 23 degrees Celsius in the night time and 18 during the day. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)





A woman and a girl walk past a billboard with a portrait of a Russian officer awarded for action in Ukraine and the words “Glory to the heroes of Russia” in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, January 11, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Municipal workers sleep inside a bus in downtown Moscow, Russia, 11 January 2023. Temperatures in Moscow dropped up to -15 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)





A pedestrian crosses a road while walking past a church on a frosty day in the Siberian town of Tara in the Omsk region, Russia on January 11, 2023. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)





Russian service personnel attend a service led for believers, including multi-child families, Russia's soldiers involved in a military campaign in Ukraine and their relatives, at the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces near Moscow, Russia on January 15, 2023. (Photo by Yulia Morozova/Reuters)





A person lays flowers in memory of those killed in the weekend strike on a residential block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, at the monument to famous Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka in Moscow on January 17, 2023. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)





Russian President Vladimir Putin attends events marking the 80th anniversary of the break of Nazi's siege of Leningrad, (now St. Petersburg) during World War Two at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of siege victims are buried, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, January 18, 2023. The Red Army broke the nearly 900-day blockade of the city on January 19, 1943 after fierce fighting. (Photo by Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Photo)





Believers bathe in the icy water during a traditional Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, January 18, 2023. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





A man (R) bathes in the Neva River through a hole on its frozen surface on the occasion of the Orthodox Epiphany in Saint Petersburg, Russia, 19 January 2023. People believe that bathing in the blessed waters during the feast of the Epiphany strengthens their spirit and body. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Russian Orthodox priest takes a dip in the ice cold water of a pond during the celebrations of the Orthodox Epiphany holiday, in Moscow, Russia, 18 January 2023. People believe that dipping into blessed waters during the holiday of Epiphany strengthens their spirit and body. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)





A woman bathes in water during a traditional Epiphany celebration as the temperature dropped to about –12 degrees (10,4 degrees Fahrenheit) near the Achairsky monastery outside the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, early Thursday, January 19, 2023. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (Photo by Evgeniy Sofiychuk/AP Photo)





Rescue workers observe a Russian Orthodox believer dipping in the icy water during a traditional Epiphany celebration in Kronstadt, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, January 18, 2023. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. The temperatures in St.Petersburg is +3 Celsius (37 Fahrenheit). (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Russian Orthodox believers take a dip in the ice cold water of a pond during the celebrations of the Orthodox Epiphany holiday, in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 18 January 2023. People believe that dipping into blessed waters during the holiday of Epiphany strengthens their spirit and body. (Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA/EFE)