A mobile phone cover with a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and which reads “Mr President” is seen in this photo illustration taken a in hotel room in Kazan, Russia, July 30, 2015. He may be in charge of an economy in crisis, but if mobile phone covers and souvenir mugs are a barometer of popularity, Russian President Vladimir Putin need not fear for his political future. In fact, Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year has given the memorabilia makers even more material to glorify, sometimes wryly, a president whose image as a champion of Russian national interests in a hostile world is barely challenged in his own country. (Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)

A model stands in a light backstage after presenting the collection by Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina at The Russian State Library, one of the three national libraries of Russia, the largest library in the country, largest in Europe, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Nothing special – just Russians celebrate the New Year. Yep, not everything in Russia is Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky.

Police officers detain a woman who laid flowers for Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, February 16, 2024. Russian authorities say that Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison. He was 47. (Photo by AP Photo)

Travel photographer Amos Chapple recently crossed into Turkmenistan on a three-day transit visa and was able to photograph many of the sights and monuments in Ashgabat, the capital and largest city. Turkmenistan is a single-party country, a former Soviet state, run by a president at the center of a cult of personality.

Photo: A young couple leave the Alem Entertainment Center in Ashgabat. The current president has a history of breaking obscure records. In 2012 the wheel atop this complex was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest enclosed Ferris wheel. The structure was built at a cost of $90m. (Photo by Amos Chapple via The Atlantic)

The 1963 Batmobile is shown in this photo released by Heritage Auctions, HA.com December 5, 2014. The earliest known officially licensed car of comic book superhero Batman is up for auction on Saturday. The 1963 Batmobile is believed to be the first custom car to be licensed as Batman's swanky ride and could fetch up to $500,000, according to officials with Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The opening bid is $90,000. (Photo by Reuters/Heritage Auctions)

Los Angeles native Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to painting and drawing not only on vintage paper, record covers and book pages, but on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. A lingering sense of loss and longing hints at emotional depth and draws the viewer into their introspective thrall with a mixture of capricious poetry, wit, and mystery. (Photo by Mike Stilkey)

Participants re-enact the “Battle of Five Armies” from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel “The Hobbit” in a forest near the town of Doksy, Czech Republic June 6, 2015. According to event organizers, hundreds of enthusiasts dressed as characters such as elves, dwarves, goblins and orcs from the book “The Hobbit” re-enacted the clash. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)