A B-52 bomber is watched by a group of curious onlookers as it lands at RAF Fairford, February 21, 1999. The B52s arrived from the U.S.A. as part of NATO's preparations for air attacks on Yugoslavia as tensions in the Kosovo crisis increased. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Every year, participants in the Burning Man Festival descend on the playa of Nevada's Black Rock Desert to form a temporary city – a self-reliant community populated by performers, artists, free spirits, and more. Last week, an estimated 68,000 people came to Burning Man 2013 from all over the world to dance, express themselves, and take in the spectacle. Gathered below are some of the sights from the festival, which lasted a week and came to its conclusion yesterday

Hi, my name is Rodney Pike and I am a Humorous Illustrator. I have a lifetime of experience in Fine Art and Graphic Design and Digital Illustration. I offer Photo-Manipulated Illustrations of all sorts but I specialize in Photo-Manipulated Caricature Illustration, Humorous Illustration and Political Satire, perfect for magazines, books, etc. My clients include companies such as FHM Magazine, Tennis Magazine, The Village Voice Magazine, Bauer Media, Miller Publishing Group, New Coast Productions and Catchphrase Entertainment. I am a member of the ISCA and NAPP.

A demonstrator participates in a chant outside the Main Building on campus with hundreds of other students. Professors, students, and supporters of UT-Austin demonstrate on campus, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Austin. (Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP Photo)

Photo: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 – 1924) lying in state in the Kremlin. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1924

Important! For the same article in Russian language click here.

Something quite intriguing is happening within Russian-speaking internet during the last few – should you type a fully academic inquiry (at least, according to Russian academic requirements) in national search engines for "Lenin's mausoleum" – the first thing you get (even in top 10 searches) is website pages talking about black magic and occult. Website authors view this construction differently, but unconditionally agree on one thing: the mausoleum of the "leader of the world proletariat” – the essence of a magical artifact, a sort of “energy vampire”. It was built with a certain purpose: to drain the energy out of miserable Soviet citizens on one hand; and to poison the anthroposphere of one-sixth part of the earth with its vibes (the exact territory that was occupied by the former Soviet Union), depriving the Russian people of will to resist on the other hand. Complete nonsense? No doubt. Nevertheless, an intriguing one. Well, probably because some oddities do exist in mausoleum's history. These oddities are the thing we are going to discuss this time. First, let me refresh you memory on the subject.

Spanish artist Romulo Celdran (b. 1973) brings exquisite technical skill, a fastidious eye, and a scientific attention to detail to both his mixed-media drawings on board and his larger-than-life sculptures of quotidian objects.

Munzin Chowdhury (C) and other enthusiasts perform yoga in Times Square during an event marking the summer solstice on June 21, 2011 in New York City. Thousands of yogis will attend the free day-long event in Manhattan on the longest day of the year. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)