“What did I know about Chechnya before last week? For someone who grew up in the 1990s the very word Chechnya meant a string of grainy images on TV showing people in battered camouflage outfits, shooting at each other amid destruction and ruin. Fear, wahhabis, Shamil Basayev, terrorism, mountains: these were the words that used to spring to my mind when someone mentioned Chechnya”. – Maxim Shemetov. Photo: Special forces officers stand guard during a government-organised event marking Chechen language day in the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny April 25, 2013. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Australia's Genevieve Gregson gets injured during the women's 3000m steeplechase final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 4, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Boyers/Reuters)

Belarusian villagers celebrate the Christmas carol rite (Kalyady) in the village of Danilevichy, some 320 km south of Minsk on January 7, 2020. Kalyady is an ancient pagan holiday originally celebrated on winter solstice. Dressed-up people walk from house to house singing, dancing, eating and drinking with their neighbours. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)

A festivalgoer enjoys the weather in the circus area at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, United Kingdom on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)

Rhiannan Iffland of Australia competes in the women's 20m platform final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Photo by Vincent Thian/AP Photo)

A volunteer pets a tiger inside a cage at the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, otherwise known as Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi province February 12, 2015. Thai officials last week raided the Buddhist temple that is home to more than 100 tigers and are currently conducting an investigation into suspected links to wildlife trafficking. Authorities from Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation on Thursday checked 143 Bengal tigers living at the temple, and found them to be in good health. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Finland's Heta Tuuri competes in the women's high jump qualification during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 25, 2023. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP Photo)

A woman carries a stone cross in a cemetery in the village of Copaciu, southern Romania, on May 2, 2013. As part of a Holy Week tradition, Romanians visit, on Maundy Thursday, the graves of their loved ones, light fires and share food with community members in memory of the departed. Orthodox worshipers celebrate Easter on May 5. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/ Mediafax)