A woman walks past posters bearing the letter “Z” in the colours of the ribbon of Saint George, which has become a symbol of support for Russian military action in Ukraine, and reading “We are proud of Russia! We are not ashamed!” at a bus stop on Nevsky Prospekt in central Saint Petersburg on March 15, 2022. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Female Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters watch on as they release a bear into the wild in the Gara Mountains near the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on March 4, 2018, after Iraqi Kurdish Animal rights activists from a local NGO rescued it from a private home. (Photo by Safin Hamed/AFP Photo)

Hermes Cifuentes, who is also known as “Brother Hermes”, performs an exorcism on Marleny Munoz, 55, who claims to be possessed by spirits in La Cumbre, Valle July 7, 2012. Cifuentes says he has performed more than 35,000 exorcism rituals in the past 25 years. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters)

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.

John Cox, far left, begins his recall campaign for California governor with “Tag”, a Kodiak brown bear, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 in Sacramento. It was the first stop for his “Meet the Beast” bus tour. (Photo by Renee C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee via AP Photo)

Trinidadian-born rapper Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, known professionally as Nicki Minaj went fully nude and straddled a giant teddy bear in new raunchy photos. The rapper shared the revealing pictures while celebrating her 39th birthday on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. (Photo by Instagram)

Boy says hello to a swimming bear in Seattle, Washington on October 4, 2022. Fall weather brings out the Animals' playful side as Attendees celebrate World Animal Day with a visit to Woodlawn Park Zoo. (Photo by Shane Srogi/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Kalep, 5, in a bear costume, participates in parade where his father Johnny Lopez was the Elder Angel, during the Oruro Carnival, a traditional celebration that can be traced back to the indigenous Ito festival, in Oruro, Bolivia February 26, 2022. (Photo by Wara Vargas/Reuters)