People pose for a photo with certificates after swimming in the ocean for the 121st annual Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day plunge at Coney Island beach in the Brooklyn borough of New York, New York, USA, 01 January 2024. (Photo by Sarah Yenesel/EPA)

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 woman takes a selfie in front of a sculpture of a rooster that local media say bears resemblance to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, outside a shopping mall in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China December 30, 2016. (Photo by Jon Woo/Reuters)

Kim Kardashian goes shopping for gummy bears in sheer Gucci bra on October 9, 2017. She paired the risqué outfit with a waist-fitted midi length pencil skirt and clear lucite wedges from Kanye West’s fashion line. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A grizzly bear eats a frozen fruits during a hot summer day at Rio de Janeiro's zoo January 13, 2015. According to a local climate institute, temperatures in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday rose up to 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit). (Photo by Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Fluffy toy panda bears as part of the art installation “Panda mie” by Italian restaurant owner Giuseppe “Pino” Fichera sit over beers at his restaurant “Pino's” to raise awareness of the COVID-19 lockdown's business impact on gastronomy in Frankfurt, Germany, November 24, 2020. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

A large teddy bear, used to enforce social distancing, is pictured sitting at a cafe in Pristina on July 23, 2020, as Kosovo authorities announce new measures to fight against the resurgence of the COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Armend Nimani/AFP Photo)

A hot air balloon in the shape of children's comic Rupert Bear is seen tethered before a tethered flight at the Bristol International Balloon fiesta in south west England, Britain, August 10, 2018. (Photo by Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian)