Gymnast Valeria Kurochkina from Yekaterinburg performs during the Circus of Our Childhood festival at the Yekaterinburg Circus in Yekaterinburg, Russia on December 7, 2019. The festival marks the centenary of establishing state circuses in Russia. (Photo by Donat Sorokin/TASS)

People take a photograph at the Kremlin, against the backdrop of the Volga river, in the town of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, July 10, 2015. Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A seller dressed as Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden) shows Christmas toys at the Christmas decorations set in the Moscow GUM State Department store in Moscow, Russia in Moscow, Russia, Monday, December 16, 2019. (Photo by Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo)

A young girl taking part in a hairdressing contest during the 5th Abilympics Russia vocational skills championship for people with disabilities, at Moscow's VDNKh exhibition centre in Moscow, Russia on November 21, 2019. The competition is aimed at ensuring social adaptation and job opportunities for people with disabilities. (Photo by Valery Sharifulin/TASS)

A picture rotated 180 degrees shows visitors walking inside an “Upside-down House” attraction at the VVTs the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow, on January 14, 2014. The attraction to experience a new perspective of a house standing upside down was opened first time in Russia, the show organisers said. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

Smoke and ash are visible during the the Shiveluch volcano's eruption on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Shiveluch, one of Russia's most active volcanoes, erupted Tuesday, spewing clouds of ash 20 kilometers into the sky and covering broad areas with ash. (Photo by Alexander Ledyayev via AP Photo)

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.

A woman aims a World War II machine gun at a military show during celebration of the Defenders of the Fatherland Day in St.Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, February 23, 2016. The day, celebrated in Russia on February 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)