Russian Emergency Situations employees help a girl to bath in the icy water on Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Russia, Friday, January 18, 2019. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Denis and Nelya, both 30, from Moscow, Russia invited brown bear Stepan along to their very special ceremony. As well as witnessing the couple exchange vows, the bear also played the role of registrar at one point. Denis said: “We both knew Stepan is a very kind bear but still it is a huge, unpredictable animal so we were a bit scared, but still happy to be able to make our dream come true. It was a fantastic experience to have this photoshoot with Stepan”. (Photo by Olga Barantseva/Caters News)

In this photo taken in October 1917, provided by Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive, a machine gunner looks through a window at his position near the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution was long before the digital revolution allowed anyone to instantly document events. But the clumsy cameras of the time still caught some images that capture the period's drama. (Photo by Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive via AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2021, file photo, a police officer detains a young woman during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Pushkin square in Moscow, Russia. Allies of Navalny are calling for new protests next weekend to demand his release, following a wave of demonstrations across the country that brought out tens of thousands in a defiant challenge to President Vladimir Putin. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/File)

Girls in red neckerchiefs dance on Red Square, with the GUM, the State Department Store and the Historical Museum in the background, during a ceremony to celebrate joining the Pioneers organization and 100th anniversary of the All-Union Pioneer Organization, in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 22, 2022. Pro-Communist Russians are trying to preserve the Young Pioneers, which used to be the Communist league for pre-teens in the Soviet Union. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

Russian policemen detain participants of an unauthorized “Russian March 2020: For freedom and justice! We go out to say that Russian lives matter” organised by Russian nationalists on the National Unity Day in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2020. Russian nationalists demand freedom for political prisoners in prisons and a fair investigation into the deaths of political prisoners, including representatives of radical movements who were killed during detention or found dead in places of detention. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)

Believers bathe in the icy water during a traditional Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, January 18, 2023. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

A municipal worker cleans the monument of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin from a crane during preparations for the 153th anniversary of Lenin's birthday in St. Petersburg, Russia, 18 April 2023. The monument to Vladimir Lenin at the Moscow Square was installed in 1970. It was made according to the project of the sculptor Mikhail Anikushin and is the tallest monument to Lenin in St. Petersburg. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)