A man takes a picture of the “Matryoshki art object”, seven mirrored traditional Russian nesting dolls “matryoshka” topped with “kokoshnik” headdresses, in front of Soviet-era skyscraper “Ukraina” hotel in downtown Moscow on September 9, 2021. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





A woman walks as Rescue team members at work in the aftermath of a gas explosion at a nine-storey residential building in Noginsk, Moscow region, Russia, 08 September 2021. The explosion killed two people while nine others were hospitalized. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)





A whale kite launched during the 6th Tavrida Art Festival of young artists in the Kapsel Bay near the town of Sudak, southeastern Crimea, Russia on September 9, 2021. (Photo by Sergei Malgavko/TASS)





A balloon festival at the 6th Tavrida Art Festival of young artists in the Kapsel Bay near the town of Sudak, southeastern Crimea, Russia on September 9, 2021. (Photo by Sergei Malgavko/TASS)





In this photo provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian honor guard soldiers perform during the opening ceremony of the joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Zapad-2021 at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, Thursday, September 9, 2021. The military drills attend by servicemen of military units and divisions of the Western Military District, representatives of the leadership headquarters and personnel of military contingents of the armed forces of Armenia, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. (Photo by Vadim Savitskiy/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP Photo)





A woman fills in her ballot during early voting in Russia's parliamentary election, at a deer camp about 2200 kilometers (1375 miles) north-east of Moscow, in Uvatsky Municipal District, the Tyumen Region, Russia, Thursday, September 9, 2021. The Parliamentary elections will be held in Russia on Sunday, Sept. 19 2021. (Photo by Sergei Rusanov/AP Photo)





Arists of the Sketches in Space street theatre perform during the 2021 Tavrida Art Festival in Kapsel Bay on the Black Sea coast, near the town of Sudak, southeastern Crimea, Russia on September 11, 2021. (Photo by Sergei Malgavko/TASS)





Russian paratroopers line up before boarding an Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane as they take part in the military exercises “Zapad-2021” staged by the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at an aerodrome in Kaliningrad Region, Russia, September 13, 2021. (Photo by Vitaly Nevar/Reuters)





Russian paratroopers wait before boarding Ilyushin Il-76 transport planes as they take part in the military exercises “Zapad-2021” staged by the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at an aerodrome in Kaliningrad Region, Russia, September 13, 2021. (Photo by Vitaly Nevar/Russian Defence Ministry Press Service/Handout via Reuters)





People steer their SUP boards during a SUP (Stand Up Paddle)-Surfing festival at Krylatskoye Olympic rowing canal in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, September 12, 2021. (Photo by Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo)





A campaign poster of Spravedlivaya Rossiya - Za pravdu (A Just Russia – For Truth) party candidate for parliamentary election is seen at sunset in Vladivostok, Russia on September 12, 2021. (Photo by Tatiana Meel/Reuters)





Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, arrives on a troika, the traditional Russian carriage pulled by three horses, to the LDPR convention in Moscow, Russia, 13 September 2021. LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky headed the list of the party in the elections to the Russian State Duma. In total, the party list included 219 people. Elections to the Russian State Duma will be held from 17 to 19 September 2021. (Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA/EFE)





Visitors at a preview of an exhibition titled “Rejected Masterpieces: Pavel Tretyakov's Challenge” at Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia on September 15, 2021. The exhibition features a selection of artworks of the second half of the nineteenth century that stimulated debate and controversy. (Photo by Gavriil Grigorov/TASS)





A man rides his bicycle past a campaign poster of the United Russia political party placed on a disused local community center head of the Russian parliamentary and regional voting in the village of Zarevo, the Republic of Adygea, Russia on September 15, 2021. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)





People walk reflecting in a mirror installation after sunset in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, September 12, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





Cows walk past a campaign poster of Noviye Lyudi (New People) political party ahead of the Russian parliamentary and regional election outside Ulan-Ude, Buryatia republic, Russia on September 16, 2021. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





A boy rides his bicycle in a street with an election poster of United Russia party with a portrait of Chechnya's regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov ahead of the parliamentary election to the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament and local parliament in Grozny, Russia, Tuesday, September 14, 2021. The Parliamentary elections will be held in Russia on Sunday, Sept. 19. (Photo by Musa Sadulayev/AP Photo)





A woman walks past electronic screens showing a live broadcast from polling stations at the headquarters of Russia's Central Election Commission during a three-day parliamentary election in Moscow, Russia on September 17, 2021. (Photo by Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters)





A man is handed his ballots through a safety glass protecting from coronavirus infection during the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament and local parliaments elections at a polling station in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, September 17, 2021. Russia has begun three days of voting for a new parliament that is unlikely to change the country's political complexion. There's no expectation that United Russia, the party devoted to President Vladimir Putin, will lose its dominance in the State Duma. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





A woman fills her ballot paper during the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament and local parliaments elections at a polling station in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, September 17, 2021. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)