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.

A riot policeman fires into the air during clashes with opposition supporters at a rally demanding a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 11, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

In this January 24, 2017 photo, boxer Idamerys Moreno wraps a bandage on her hand before a training session at a sports center in Havana, Cuba. Boxing has long been an athletic engine for Cuba, which has won 72 Olympic medals in that category but women are not allowed to box. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

An armoured vehicle surrounded by Chicago cops at the time of the American depression, 1933. (Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

A Bugattie Zero 400 Zero is pictured during opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

The hair of CSKA Moscow cheerleaders flies high as they perform during the Euroleague Basketball game between Alba Berlin and CSKA Moscow in Moscow, Russia, 04 February 2022. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

The Monse collection is prepared backstage during Fashion Week, Friday, February 7, 2020, in New York. (Photo by John Minchillo/AP Photo)

Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson of Britain in action during the women's synchronized 10m diving at the Paris Olympics on July 31, 2024. (Photo by Leah Millis/Reuters)