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)

Photographer Alexander Lepeshkin spends whole nights at Clumba parties, or costume parties where the young creatives of Russia put on their most flashy and drink. His photos capture candid moments of alcohol-enhanced connections and collapses, but he says he’s not a party photographer – he’s a youth photographer. Photo: A Loshadka party in St. Petersburg, 2010. (Photo by Alexander Lepeshkin)

A terminally ill patient raises his arm in a hospice for those dying of AIDS at the Buddhist temple Wat Prabat Nampu in Lopburi province, north of Bangkok November 30, 2014. From 1992, the temple has provided housing for HIV positive patients and palliative care for those in the final stages of the AIDS disease. Data from 2013 estimates Thailand has 450,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, but only 353,000 have access to life-saving antiretroviral drugs. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Kiritimati is a far-flung outpost of the Republic of Kiribati. The world's largest coral atoll, Kiritimati has just one flight a week to either Fiji or Hawaii, four-and-a-half hours in either direction. Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati lies nearly 3,300 km (2,000 miles) to the west – about three weeks by boat. No lawyers are based on Kiritimati and the High Court only comes once or twice a year to clear a backlog of the most serious cases, bringing a public lawyer for defendants who can't afford their own. (Photo by Lincoln Feast/Reuters)

In 1994, after the fall of the Soviet Union, all Ukrainians had to get a new passport – and photographer Alexander Chekmenev was on hand to take their photos. The snatched extra shots he took are remarkable in their honesty and tenderness. (Photo by Alexander Chekmenev/The Guardian)

Three female friends dancing in nightclub. (Photo by Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy Stock Photo )

A Slovakian company has designed an egg-shaped and cozy micro-home that should work ideally for anybody who wants to “go off the grid” and “live off the land” – the Ecocapsule.

Manman Luk, a freelance model and make up artist, poses inside her 100-square-foot (9-square-metre) sub-divided unit, paying a monthly rent of HK4,700 ($606) in Hong Kong, China January 6, 2017. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)