Russians dance during the Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) festival in of Suzdal, Russia, 14 March 2021. The Maslenitsa festival, which originates from Slavic mythology, takes place this year from 08 March to 14 March 2021. It is usually celebrated the week before the Great Lent. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)





Participants try pancakes during a celebration of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Anastasia Makarycheva/Reuters)





Children play ball with brooms during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





A family cooks a holiday dinner at their apartment as a pancake woman stands on a table in Moscow on March 14, 2021, during celebrations of Maslenitsa, the eastern Slavic Shrovetide. Shrovetide or Maslenitsa is an ancient farewell ceremony to winter, traditionally celebrated in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine including pancake cooking as a part of the ceremony. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)





An actor wearing a costume of a Russian parsley (clown) helps a girl to climb up a wooden pole to get a prize during during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox Christian holiday celebrated in the last week before the Orthodox Lent. The festivities feature baking traditional pancakes, sleigh rides, sparring between groups of men and, finally burning the effigy of Maslenitsa. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





The skins of humanoid robots developed by Promobot service robotics manufacturer are pictured at the company's branch in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia on March 15, 2021. (Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters)





Street animators wearing fancy costumes take a break on a bench in a park in Stavropol, Russia on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)





Spectators gather around a burning effigy of Lady Maslenitsa during the celebration of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter in front of a monument of a revolutionary soldier in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters)





A man climbs up a wooden pole to get a prize in front of an Orthodox cathedral during celebrations of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters)





Participants run into each other during a traditional fighting game to celebrate Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in Moscow region, Russia on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters)





People take part in a festive activity during celebrations of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in Moscow region, Russia on March 1, 2020. (Photo by Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters)





A medical worker carries a bag containing doses of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus as she enters a carriage of the Academician Fyodor Uglov medical train, at a railway station in the town of Tulun in Irkutsk Region, Russia on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Evgeny Kozyrev/Reuters)





People wait to receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in a carriage of the Academician Fyodor Uglov medical train, at a railway station in the town of Tulun in Irkutsk Region, Russia on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Evgeny Kozyrev/Reuters)





A woman wearing a protective face mask leaves a carriage of the Academician Fyodor Uglov medical train providing health services, including vaccination against the coronavirus, at a railway station in the town of Tulun in Irkutsk Region, Russia on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Evgeny Kozyrev/Reuters)





A man drops a skillet, which he gets as a prize after climbed up a wooden pole, during celebrations of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, which is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters)





A makeshift memorial set up outside the Yubileyny Sports Palace in tribute to the late Junior Hockey League player Timur Faizutdinov in St Petersburg, Russia on March 16, 2021. The 19-year-old Dynamo St Petersburg captain took a hit to the head with a puck during their March 12 match against Lokomotiv Yaroslav and was admitted to intensive care, but succumbed to the injury four days later. (Photo by Peter Kovalev/TASS)





A man celebrates the Maslenitsa or Shrovetide, a farewell ceremony to winter close to village of Gzhel about 60 km from Moscow on March 14, 2021. Shrovetide precedes the beginning of Lent, with each day of the week holding its own meaning. Shrove Sunday, also known as the Sunday of Forgiveness, is a day for asking forgiveness for the harm caused to other people intentionally or unintentionally (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





Russian traditionaly dressed people celebrate the Maslenitsa or Shrovetide, a farewell ceremony to winter close to village of Gzhel about 60 km from Moscow on March 14, 2021. Shrovetide precedes the beginning of Lent, with each day of the week holding its own meaning. Shrove Sunday, also known as the Sunday of Forgiveness, is a day for asking forgiveness for the harm caused to other people intentionally or unintentionally (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





Russian freediver Alexei Molchanov reacts after setting a new Guinness World Record for plunging 80 metres in the icy waters of Lake Baikal on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Akivis/Russian Freediving Federation/AFP Photo)





An artist performs during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)