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.

Lucie Clayton instructs pupils in the art of correct posture by balancing a glass and book on their heads at her finishing school in Old Cavendish Street, London. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images). 25th November 1936

A little girl takes a picture of a lion in the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, September 13, 2016. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad watches as Pope John Paul II boards his plane at Damascus airport May 8, 2001 at the end of the Pontiff's four-day visit to Syria.

Newly commissioned 2nd lieutenants throw their caps in the air as a team of F-16 Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the 2011 graduating class of the U.S. Air Force Academy on May 25, 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 1,021 graduates received their diplomas in front of their families and dignitaries at the Academy's Falcon Stadium. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Men slicing blubber off a large, dead whale. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1912

In this photo illustration a plastic carrier bag is blown along the road by the wind on March 4, 2008 in Birmingham, England. (Photo illustration by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

“Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately 1 metre (39 in) in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland”. – Wikipedia

Photo: “Abdul”, a baby Common Wombat, is one of the marsupials on show during the spring baby boom at Taronga Zoo September 1, 2005 in Sydney, Australia. “Abdul” was orphaned when his mother was killed by a car. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)