Members of an electoral commission destroy unused ballots, after polling stations closed on the final day of the presidential election in Saint Petersburg, Russia on March 17, 2024. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Heralds ride on horse-back through the streets of Moscow proclaiming the forthcoming coronation of Tsar Nicholas II, 1896. P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.

A participant attempts to control his craft during the Red Bull Flugtag Russia 2015 competition in Moscow, Russia, July 26, 2015. Enthusiasts competed in disciplines on the longest distance of the flight, on the creativity of self-made aircrafts and on the originality of the performance in an attempt to win the contest, according to organizers. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Russian Mi-28N from the Berkuty (Golden Eagles) helicopter display team fly in formation during the “Aviadarts” military aviation competition at the Dubrovichi range near Ryazan, Russia, August 2, 2015. The aircraft started dipping down due to back propeller failure and crashed, killing one of two pilots, according to a Reuters photographer and official representatives of the competition. The aviation contest is part of the International Army Games, which are held in Russia from the 1st till the 15th of August with participants from 17 countries, according to organizers. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

“Nicholas II (Russian: Николай II, Николай Александрович Романов, tr. Nikolay II, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov) (18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church. Nicholas II, his wife, his son, his four daughters, the family's medical doctor, the Tsar's valet, the Empress' lady-in-waiting and the family's cook were murdered in the same room by the Bolsheviks on the night of 16/17 July 1918”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Tsar Nicholas II (1868–1918) with his wife. (Photo by W. & D. Downey/Getty Images). Circa 1900

A vendor sells fish at Central Market in freezing conditions of minus 43 degrees Celsius in the city of Yakutsk, Sakha (Yakutia), Russia on December 13, 2020. The winters in Yakutsk are extremely cold and long and the summers short and warm, with temperatures sometimes rising above 30C. (Photo by Yevgeny Sofroneyev/TASS)