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.

A Sudanese man walks to a United Nations displacement camp after crossing into Tunisia from Libya on March 06, 2011 in Ras Jdir, Tunisia. As fighting continues in and around the Libyan capital of Tripoli, tens of thousands of guest workers from Egypt, Tunisia, Bangladesh and other countries are fleeing to the border of Tunisia to escape the violence. The situation has turned into a humanitarian emergency as fledgling Tunisia is overwhelmed with the workers. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to fight to the end. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images). RAS JDIR, TUNISIA – MARCH 06 2011

“A guide horse is an experimental mobility option for blind people who do not wish to or cannot use a guide dog. They are provided by The Guide Horse Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide miniature horses as assistance animals to blind users living in rural environments”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Shari Bernstiel, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania is helped along the sidewalk by Tonto, her guide horse March 19, 2004 in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Tonto, a minature horse who went through one year of training, acts as Sheri's seeing eye dog and is one of three working guide horses in the United States. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

“The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1940 Games had been scheduled for Tokyo, and then Helsinki; the 1944 Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second occasion that London had hosted the Olympic Games, the city had previously been the venue in 1908”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The Olympic torch passes through Windsor on its way to Wembley, for the start of the Summer Olympics, 29th July 1948. (Photo by Ron Burton/Keystone/Getty Images)

A priest comforts one of the relatives of the victims, before a mass in their memory, as Lebanon marks one-year anniversary of Beirut port explosion, at the port in Beirut, Lebanon on August 4, 2021. United in grief and anger, families of the victims and other Lebanese came out into the streets of Beirut on Wednesday to demand accountability as banks, businesses and government offices shuttered to mark one year since the horrific explosion. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

Lady officers of the Philippine National Police force show the taped muzzle of their guns at a police camp in Taguig City, south of Manila, Philippines, 22 December 2014. Law enforcement units all over the country held a ceremonial taping of firearms as a counter measure against cases of indiscriminate firing and illegal discharge of service weapons during the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

Cooperation is key to success. This motto was used by the Government of Denmark when they decided to create a project that bore the name of UN City. This compound was designed to house all nine Copenhagen based UN agencies under a single roof. This embodies the core idea of the United Nations, since this project allows for better efficiency and practicality thanks to joint effort. The first plans for the UN City were hatched in 2002. After 11 years, in 2013 the first stage of the project was finally finished. Presently, Campus 1 of UN City accommodates 1,300 staff member, while Campus 2 is going to become the largest humanitarian warehouse in the whole world.

Football transfers are not cheap. To have a player strengthen their ranks, teams are willing to pay big money. The football transfer considered to be the most expensive in the sport's history was that of Gareth Bale leaving Tottenham to play at Real Madrid. The Spanish club paid not less than £86 million (about $133 million at today's exchange rates) to have the player among its own. But recent news suggest that this record might be broken this year. According to reports in the media, UK Premier League team Manchester United is willing to almost double that amount.