Elena Chernyshova's vision of Norilsk, Russia, the northernmost city in the world, is a series of surprises by which she extracts otherworldly beauty from ugly realities. Here: 2013. A woman is visible through a narrow passageway between two buildings. Norilsk's urban spaces were designed to shorten distances around large developments and give residents maximum protection from arctic winds. (Photo by Elena Chernyshova)

A guard dog in the suburbs of Yakutsk, Russia, considered to be the coldest city in the world, January 2014. (Photo by Amos Chapple/REX Features)

“Tardigrades (commonly known as waterbears or moss piglets) are small, water-dwelling, segmented animals with eight legs. Tardigrades were first discovered in 1773 by Johann August Ephraim Goeze, who called them kleiner Wasserbär, meaning “little water bear” in German. The name Tardigrada means “slow walker” and was given by Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1777. The name water bear comes from the way they walk, reminiscent of a bear's gait. The biggest adults may reach a body length of 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in), the smallest below 0.1 mm. Freshly hatched tardigrades may be smaller than 0.05 mm”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Tardigrades. (Photo by SPL/East News)

Yakutsk, with a population of around 270,000, holds its own title: that of the coldest city on Earth. Here: Frost-encrusted house in the city centre. (Photo by Amos Chapple/Courtesy Images/RFE/RL)

Soccer player David Beckham (C) with Cruz Beckham (L) and Romeo Beckham (R) get slimed onstage during Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards 2014 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on July 17, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

A woman bathes into the icy water on Epiphany during a traditional Epiphany at the Great Palace Pond with the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino in the background in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, January 18, 2024. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

First year cadets of the Vladivostok branch of Russian Internal Affairs Ministry's Far Eastern Law Institute march in formation during a ceremony to take oath of allegiance at a monument to Internal Affairs Ministry officers who lost their lives in line of duty in Vladivostok, Russia on September 24, 2021. 27 cadets took oath of allegiance during the ceremony. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Torchbearer Hou Bin runs with his torch during the Beijing 2022 Paralymic Torch Relay and Flame Lighting Ceremony at the Temple of Heaven park in Beijing, capital of China, March 2, 2022. The flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was collected at eight locations in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Each collection is followed by a relay of no more than 20 torchbearers on-site before the gathering of nine flames at the Temple of Heaven. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)