A woman poses with a retro VAZ 2101 car during the annual BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on October 22, 2024. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Volunteers use flour to clean birds following an oil spill caused by an incident involving two tankers damaged in a storm in the Kerch Strait, in the village of Vityazevo near the Black Sea resort of Anapa, Russia on December 20, 2024. (Photo by Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters)

“Yunarmiya” (Young Army) All-Russia National Military Patriotic Social Movement Association members compete during the 7th military-patriotic game “Yunarmiya, forward!” dedicated to Victory Day at the Museum-reserve “Gorki Leninskie” in Gorki Leninskie, Russia, 29 April 2025. A total of 160 teams of Yunarmiya and military-patriotic detachments attended the games, each team consisting of seven people aged between 12 and 17 years old. The games are a continuation of the Soviet military-sports competitions for children and teenagers, “Zarnitsa” (since 1967) and “Orlyonok (Eaglet)” (since 1972). (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)

A woman jumps over a fire during the celebration of the summer solstice at a festival in the village of Okunevo in Omsk region, Russia on June 22, 2025. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)

This artwork created using the end of a drill is the work of Swiss photographer Fabian Oefner who captures the flight of paint in just one 40,000th of a second. His latest Black Hole series celebrates the physics of centripetal force and the effects it has on simple paint and a an ordinary drill with a metal rod connected on the end. The incredible result of Fabians work comes out looking like a picture taken on the Hubble Telescope of some cosmic event. (Photo by Fabian Oefner/Caters News)

“Residents in a small town littered with giant potholes may be ready to “crack” the art world – after turning their massively damaged roads into hilarious masterpieces. Fun-natured drivers from Scranton, Pennsylvania have been challenged by an arts group to turn the ugly craters in their neighborhood into pothole art”. – Caters News. Photo: Cereal bowl pothole. (Photo by Caters News)

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.