Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks via video call during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, December 17, 2020. This year, Putin attended his annual news conference online due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Musicians in Father Frost costumes ride along Nevsky Avenue on the Dedmorobus (portmanteau of “Father Frost” and “bus”) musical bus to entertain citizens ahead of New Year celebrations in St Petersburg, Russia on December 28, 2020. (Photo by Alexander Demianchuk/TASS)

A Russian female military cadet marches in front of the Eternal Flame at the WWII memorial complex at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow on February 17, 2021, during a rehearsal for the upcoming February 23's Defender of the Fatherland Day. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

A model displays a collection by graduates of the British Higher School of Art & Design during the Fashion Week at Zaryadye Park near Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 24, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Kate O'Connor of Team Northern Ireland celebrates during the Women's Heptathlon High Jump on day five of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium on August 02, 2022 in the Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

A puffadder snake is guided to safety as firefighters battle a wildfire near Pringle Bay, as firefighters remain on high alert amid dry, hot, and windy weather in Western Cape, South Africa on January 30, 2024. (Photo by Esa Alexander/Reuters)

Tsar Alexander II (1818–1881) known as “The Liberator” lying in state. He was mortally wounded by an assassination attack in St Petersburg. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). March 1881

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) reacts as he talks to Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko before a meeting on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, February 11, 2015. A document seen by Reuters at talks on the Ukraine crisis suggested the sides may agree to end fighting in eastern Ukraine with a ceasefire starting on February 14, the withdrawal of heavy weapons and the creation of a security zone. (Photo by Mykola Lazarenko/Reuters)