A herder stops for reindeers to have a rest while riding along the tundra area in Nenets Autonomous District, Russia, November 27, 2016. In Russia's remote Arctic regions reindeer herding has been a way of life for centuries. Each winter herders in Russia's sparsely populated Nenets Autonomous District corral their reindeers into open-air pens before selecting weak animals to be culled... (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Bullet the bulldog skateboards in a seafront area in the city of Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific coast on August 9, 2021. The 6-year-old dog learnt how to skateboard two years ago thanks to his owner, Sergei Shukshuyev. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Mil Mi-8 combat helicopter flies over Moscow, Russia on May 7, 2019 during the dress rehearsal of a Victory Day air show marking the 74th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, the Eastern Front of World War II. (Photo by Sergei Savostyanov/TASS)

Burning effigies of winter during a celebration of Maslenitsa festival (Pancake Week) at the Etnomir (Ethnoworld) cultural and educational center in Kaluga Region, Russia on March 1, 2020. The holiday celebrates the end of winter and marks the arrival of spring. (Photo by Sergei Bobylev/TASS)

Belarusian villagers celebrate the Christmas carol rite (Kalyady) in the village of Danilevichy, some 320 km south of Minsk on January 7, 2020. Kalyady is an ancient pagan holiday originally celebrated on winter solstice. Dressed-up people walk from house to house singing, dancing, eating and drinking with their neighbours. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)

Pigeons walk in front of the Russian Foreign Ministry building (C) in Moscow on April 8, 2024. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Moscow's key diplomatic and economic partner China on April 8-9, his Ministry said in a statement. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

Villagers play traditional games as they take part in a Chyrachka rite during the Shrovetide celebration in the village of Tonezh, some 280 km of Minsk, on March 10, 2019. Chyrachka is a kind of birds that live in this area. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)