His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrives at the Christchurch Airport on June 7, 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Dalai Lama requested a visit to Christchurch ahead of his Australian tour to see damaged caused by the February earthquake that devastated the city. He will speak and offer prayers at a free public event at Canterbury Arena on Wednesday. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)

The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta is pictured stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland on February 18, 2020. A “ghost ship” drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said. (Photo by Cathal Noonan/AFP Photo)

A woman walks past murals adorning the walls of Garibaldi subway station, in Milan, Friday, February 28, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak in northern Italy, the bustling metropolis of Milan has resembled more of a ghost town lately, as workers stayed home and tourism has dwindled there, and other parts of Italy. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

The sun catches on the panels of a 1928 Rolls Royce Phantom at Northington Grange, the summer home of the Grange Park Opera, on April 16, 2011 near Winchester, England. The English Heritage Grade 1 listed Greek Revival style property was the setting for the inter-war Rolls Royce20-Ghost Club members which was founded in 1949 by a group of owners of vintage Rolls Royce cars. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Buns are stamped the Chinese characters “Ping An”, meaning peaceful and safe, inside a bakery, at Hong Kong's Cheung Chau island, China May 17, 2015, ahead of the upcoming Bun Festival on May 25. The festival celebrates the islanders' deliverance from famine many centuries ago and is meant to placate ghosts and restless spirits. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

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.