A woman falls as police move in to disperse protesters in Trafalgar Square in London on September 26, 2020, at a “We Do Not Consent!” mass rally against vaccination and government restrictions designed to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, including the wearing of masks and taking tests for the virus. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

Teachers and students of dance schools dance maintaining social distance in Barcelona, Spain on November 9, 2020 during a protest against harsher anti-covid19 measures as closures in the hospitality and culture sector and limitations of social contacts by the Catalan government due to the accelerated spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Matthias Oesterle/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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)

Mae Muller of the United Kingdom performs during dress rehearsals at the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

A demonstrator smashes a shop window during a protest condemning the arrest of rap singer Pablo Hasél in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, February 20, 2021. A fifth night of peaceful protests to denounce the imprisonment of a Spanish rap artist once more devolved into clashes between police and fringe group members who set up street barricades and smashed storefront windows in Barcelona. (Photo by Joan Mateu/AP Photo)

Commuters, some of them wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus ride an auto-rickshaw in Noida, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 16, 2020. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca September 30, 2014. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

To an outsider, their passion is at times illegal and often on the verge of life and death. But climbing rooftops of high-rise buildings and exploring abandoned facilities is in the blood of these young Muscovites. The small group calls itself “Rudex”, which stands for “roof and decay exploration”, and is akin a Western youth craze known as urbex or “urban exploration” of man-made structures. Here: Urban explorer Vad Him of Rudex team jumps whilst on a rooftop in Moscow, Russia, August 14, 2017. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)