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 woman takes a selfie photo by the “Friendship of Nations” fountain at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre (VDNKh) in Moscow on October 5, 2023. The fountain was installed at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre (VDNKh), a trade show and amusement park, in 1954, with 16 gilded bronze sculptures of young women representing 16 republics of the USSR around the oval fountain bowl featuring a wheat sheaf. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

Moscow’s Red Square has seen its share of strange stuff over the centuries, from medieval public executions to artistic self-mutilations. But a giant Louis Vuitton suitcase took many Muscovites completely by surprise. The 9-meter high, 30-meter long building covered in iconic gold-on-brown pattern erected last week is to host a historic exhibition.

“Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Zaitsev (Russian: Вячеслав Михайлович Зайцев), more commonly known as Slava Zaitsev (Russian: Слава Зайцев), born 2 March 1938 in Ivanovo, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, is a Russian fashion designer, painter, graphic artist and theatrical costume designer”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A models wears a creation by designer Slava Zaitsev during his fashion show on Day 1 of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia Fall/Winter 2011/2012 at the Congress Hall on March 31, 2011 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Russian political artist Nadezhda Khuzina was born December 12, 1982 in the city of Serpukhov, Russia. In 2001 she graduated from Moscow Region Pedagogical College, in 2008 – St. Petersburg Art and Industry Academy. Now Nadezhda Khuzina is living in San Diego, CA. Nadezhda Khuzina “Nadia” has devoted her last paintings to Winter Olympics in Sochi, featuring Russian president Putin in different roles. Vladimir Putin is able to perform any sport – skater and skier, hockey player and snowboarder, such James Bond of Olympics, able to cope with any task. The creative artist is inspired by the image of Russian president, a charismatic man Vladimir Putin

“Elat’ma, the Ryazan Oblast region of Russia. This small town is only 300 kilometers (186 miles) from modern Moscow but remains 60 years in the past, dominated by the spirit of socialism. The air of the communist ‘50s can be seen in the town’s architecture, celebrations and other occurrences. But neither its beauty nor its ties to a socialist past brought photographer Anastasia Rudenko to this village. Elat’ma is unique in that it functions as a town for mentally disabled people”. – Michelle Cohan via CNN. (Photo by Anastasia Rudenko)

“The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukrainian SSR, which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. It is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster)”. – Wikipedia (Photos by Alexandr Strannik, August 1986; Source: LiveJournal)

Stunning silhouettes under European cities reveal the size and splendor of the continent’s urban foundations. Photographer and content-manager Anna Arinova, 28, from Moscow, captured the awe-inspiring labyrinths in Russia and Germany. Here: Regenwurmlager, Poland. The Regenwurmlager is an extensive underground fortification area constructed by Germany in 1920s-1940s, now in western Poland, near the city of Międzyrzecz. (Photo by Anna Arinova/Caters News)