It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)

Bodybuilders pose on stage during the Mr.001 bodybuilding competition in Mombasa, Kenya, on December 11, 2021. This bodybuilding competition was created by a former bodybuilder and its the first one to happen in the coastal city since 2015. The name comes from Mombasa's county code and currently is considered one of the biggest in East and Central Africa. The first edition brought over 200 participants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa and Pakistan who competed in different categories including physique, bikini and figure. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt/AFP Photo)

A resident carries a gas canister as an ash cloud hovers above during an eruption of Mount Sinabung volcano at Tiga Serangkai village in Karo Regency, North Sumatra province, Indonesia June 24, 2015. More than 10,000 people from 12 villages, who are living around the slopes of Mount Sinabung, left their homes and moved to refugee camps, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

Exhibition's guides pose on a tank during the Army-2022 International Military-Technical Forum at the Russian Armed Forces' Patriot Park in Kubinka, outside Moscow, on August 16, 2022. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Photo)

In this photo posted on Twitter, Sunday, May 3, 2015, and provided by NASA, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti sips espresso from a cup designed for use in zero-gravity, on the International Space Station. Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman in space, fired up the first espresso machine in space, which uses small capsules, or pods, of espresso coffee. (Photo by AP Photo/NASA)

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler greets supporters at a May Day gathering in the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. (Photo by Keystone). 1st May 1938

Lake Baikal is the world's oldest lake, at 25 million years (possibly older), and deepest, averaging 744.4 metres (2,442 ft).

Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water.

“The Challenge!” Young boy relishes in a game of tug of war before school. Photo location: Lake Titicaca, Peru. (Photo and caption by Paul Heyman/National Geographic Photo Contest)