Russian cadets march during the annual cadet schools get-together in Moscow, Russia on March 30, 2018. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Vladimir Putin shows a hold to a young judo wrestler at the Regional Judo Center at the Arena Sports Complex in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on January 24, 2012, during his visit to the region. Putin is known for his passion for judo, in which he has a black belt. (Photo by AFP Photo/STR)

A young YPJ recruit (in pink) arrives to the training base for her first day in training near Derek City, Syria. The YPJ schedule is demanding and requires discipline – new soldiers in training get about 6 hours of sleep a night and wake up at 4 AM to begin exercising; afterwards, their day consists of a full schedule of drills and classroom lessons. Before joining the YPJ many of the girls had never participated in physical activity or sports before. (Photo by Erin Trieb/NBC News)

Travel photographer Amos Chapple recently crossed into Turkmenistan on a three-day transit visa and was able to photograph many of the sights and monuments in Ashgabat, the capital and largest city. Turkmenistan is a single-party country, a former Soviet state, run by a president at the center of a cult of personality.

Photo: A young couple leave the Alem Entertainment Center in Ashgabat. The current president has a history of breaking obscure records. In 2012 the wheel atop this complex was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest enclosed Ferris wheel. The structure was built at a cost of $90m. (Photo by Amos Chapple via The Atlantic)

In this Tuesday, December 20, 2016 photo, Mohammad Ramzan, right, reacts while talking to The Associated Press with his young bride Saima in Jampur, Pakistan. Saima was given as a bride to the older man by her father so he could marry the groom’s sister, a practice of exchanging girls that is entrenched in conservative regions of Pakistan. It even has its own name in Urdu: Watta Satta, “give and take”. A mix of interests – family obligations, desire for sons, a wish to hand off a girl to a husband – can lead to a young teen in an a marriage she never sought. (Photo by K.M. Chaudhry/AP Photo)

Valeria Gonzalez Maidana of Paraguay performs in the final round of the first Budapest Ballet Grand Prix in the National Dance Theatre in Budapest, Hungary on November 23, 2023. The international ballet competition was launched by the Hungarian Dance University, a leading training facility of Hungarian professional dancers, to promote ballet and dance art in Hungary. The competition offers young dancers an opportunity to compete and gain exposure in the international dance scene, and provides scholarships and career opportunities for the most outstanding dancers. The event runs from 21 to 24 November. (Photo by Tamas Vasvari/EPA)

A soldier reacts after falling off a horse as members of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, arrive at Green Park for a gun salute celebrating the King's birthday in London on November 14, 2022. King Charles III is celebrating his first birthday as monarch as he turns 74. (Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP Photo)

A Syrian man rides his bicycle past a man selling grains during a halt in fighting on February 29, 2016 in Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region, east of the capital Damascus. A UN-backed ceasefire deal took hold across parts of Syria, bringing relative calm to areas where the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda's local affiliate are not present. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP Photo)