A woman refreshes at a fountain in Casa de Campo during a heatwave in Madrid, Spain on June 15, 2022. (Photo by Isabel Infantes/Reuters)

Jamaican musical artist Shenseea attends the 2022 MTV VMAs at Prudential Center on August 28, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Catherine Powell/Getty Images for MTV/Paramount Global)

Performers are reflected in a displayed vehicle before going onto the stage during the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing, China, April 29, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

An Israeli 155mm self-propelled howitzer, loaded on a trailer, arrives at a position along the Israel-Gaza border on May 13, 2021. Israel deployed additional troops to Gaza's border as the military conflict with Palestinian Islamists raged on, while inside Israel security forces scrambled to contain deadly riots between Jews and Arabs. (Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP Photo)

Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli air strike on Gaza City, 18 May 2021. Tensions have escalated in the region, following days of violent confrontations between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in Jerusalem, leading to the heaviest offensive in years. (Photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA/EFE)

“Residents in a small town littered with giant potholes may be ready to “crack” the art world – after turning their massively damaged roads into hilarious masterpieces. Fun-natured drivers from Scranton, Pennsylvania have been challenged by an arts group to turn the ugly craters in their neighborhood into pothole art”. – Caters News. Photo: Cereal bowl pothole. (Photo by Caters News)

To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.