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.

Visitors watch as members of a local winter swimmers club pour buckets of cold water over their daughters, 7-year-old Liza Broverman and 2-year-old Alisa Smagina during a celebration of Polar Bear Day at the Royev Ruchey zoo, with the air temperature at about minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit), in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, November 27, 2016. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Four-year-old Etta Syrett relaxes on one of two giant pumpkins at Pinetops Nurseries in Lymington, UK on September 22, 2025, affectionately named “Dumbledore” and ”Muggle”. Grown by twins Ian and Stuart Paton, each weighs an estimated 1,179 kg (2,600 lbs). The 64-year-old brothers were inspired by Hagrid’s pumpkin patch in Harry Potter and hope to break the world record. (Photo by Ollie Thompson/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Seven year old Hungarian herding dog Derci runs along the Olympiaberg hill during stormy weather in Munich, southern Germany, Monday, January 4, 2016. (Photo by Matthias Balk/DPA via AP Photo)

A biker shows his 12-year-old cat “Chiquinho” – which always rides with him on his motorbike – in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 19, 2016. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

Jensen a two-year-old False Map turtle, from the Mississippi River, gets used to his new home at Blackpool Sea Life Centre on February 13, 2012 in Blackpool, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Two and a half year-old Jennifer Martin in tears during a visit to Santa at Harrods department store in London, 10th December 1949. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)