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.

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)

A man dressed in a traditional Perchten costume and mask performs during a Perchten festival in the western Austrian village of Huben November 22, 2014. Each year in November and January people in the western Austria regions dress up in Perchten (also known in some regions as Krampus or Tuifl) costumes and parade through the streets to perform a 1,500 year-old pagan ritual to disperse the ghosts of winter. (Photo by Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters)

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)

A dolphin swims alongside ships and fishing boats at the Bosphorus in Arnavutkoy district of Istanbul, Turkiye on May 21, 2023. (Photo by Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The worlds largest cruise ship, the 361 metres long, Harmony of the Seas, arrives in port for her mayden voyage, in Southampton, Britain May 17, 2016. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

A little blue penguin which was found at Papamoa Beach, covered in oil after the Liberian cargo ship, Rena, hit a reef, on October 7, 2011, in Tauranga, New Zealand. Reports of an oil sheen have been spotted on the surface of the water surrounding the ship and two penguins have been found covered in oil. (Photo by SUNLIVE New Zealand/Getty Images)

“«Pirate radio» in the UK first became widespread in the early 1960s when pop music stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London started to broadcast on medium wave to the UK from offshore ships or disused sea forts. At the time these stations were not illegal because they were broadcasting from international waters. The stations were set up by entrepreneurs and music enthusiasts to meet the growing demand for pop and rock music, which was not catered for by the legal BBC Radio services”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The “World in Action” team making a program about the pirate radio ship Caroline, filmed by Paddy Searle, and produced by Mike Hodges. The DJ being filmed is Robbie Dale, and Hodges is standing behind him. (Photo by James Jackson/Evening Standard/Getty Images). 6th September 1967