A tufted puffin is seen in Kamchatka Territory, Russia on July 17, 2018. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

A child covered in mud on Lake Chokrak near the village of Kurortnoye, Leninsky District of Crimea in Russia on July 4, 2019. (Photo by Sergei Malgavko/TASS)

Maria Sharapova of Russia arrives at the 2012 Australian open Players Party at Crown Towers on January 15, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)

In modern Russia there are no free elections, therefore the political elite is almost constant.

Photo: Valentina Matvienko, Mayor of St. Petersburg, attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 17, 2011 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Global business leaders have gathered in Russia for the three-day conference. (Photo by Alexander Aleshkin/Epsilon/Getty Images)

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony before the Russia 2018 World Cup Group A football match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14, 2018. (Photo by Sergei Bobylev/TASS via Getty Images)

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.

Russian Police academy female cadets march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 7, 2014. Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russia's most important secular holiday celebrated on May 9. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

The 6th Siberian Tattoo Festival at Podzemka Loft Park in Novosibirsk, Russia on August 20, 2017. Tattoo lovers have been showing off their impressive inkings at annual conventions in LA and Russia this weekend. This year marks the sixth Siberian Tattoo Festival in Novosibirsk, Russia, while stateside tattoo fanatics have been celebrating all things body-art at the LA Tattoo Convention in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Kirill Kukhmar/TASS)