A masked reveller hangs from an inflatable balloon during the first day of the carnival in Venice, Italy, January 23, 2016. (Photo by Manuel Silvestri/Reuters)

A rugby fan adjusts his latex mask at the rugby sevens tournament in Hong Kong on March 29, 2014. (Photo by Philippe Lopez/AFP Photo)

A woman wearing a mask walks past an antique store in Hong Kong, Friday, March 25, 2022. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

A masked reveller poses in San Marco Piazza during the Venice Carnival, January 30, 2016. (Photo by Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)

Rugby Union, Hong Kong Sevens, Hong Kong Stadium on April 9, 2016: A fan wearing a mask is hugged. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

Ostriches wear masks as they are transported by a truck for relocation in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, August 8, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Residents wearing masks to protect from the coronavirus cross a junction in Beijing on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.