Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy shakes hands with Luka Modric of Croatia during the coin toss during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Croatia and Italy at Football Stadium Leipzig on June 24, 2024 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Lee Smith/Reuters)

Three Siberian tiger cubs meet visitors at Yangzhou Zoo in Yangzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, on 27 June, 2024. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Allison Crane walks out of her flooded neighborhood after Hurricane Beryl passed in Galveston, Texas, U.S. July 8, 2024. (Photo by Rich Matthews/Reuters)

Australian architect and model Bianca Censori did it again this afternoon wearing another sеxy ensemble during a solo shopping trip in Beverly Hills on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Kate Applepie outside the Batsheva presentation during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) in New York, New York on September 8, 2024. (Photo by Sara Konradi for The Washington Post)

Cristiano Ronaldo of team Al-Nassr FC scores their fourth goal during the Saudi Pro League match between Al Nassr and Al Khaleej at Al Awwal Park on November 23, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

A dune buggy driver trains before competing in a sand dune drag racing event on January 8, 2016, as part of the Liwa 2016 Moreeb Dune Festival in the Liwa desert, some 250 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a variety of races (cars, bikes, falcons, camels and horses) or other activities aimed at promoting the country's folklore. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP Photo)