Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

In Portugal, in the last decade of September 2022 American singer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger loosens up her buttons and lets the sun heat up her buns. (Photo by Nicole Scherzinger/Instagram)

A woman dressed in pagan attire watches the sun rise during the Summer Solstice festivities at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. After two years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stonehenge reopened Monday for the Summer Solstice celebrations. (Photo by Andrew Matthews/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Lee Kiefer of Team United States competes against Jessica Zi Jia Guo of Team Canada on Fencing - Women's Foil Individual at Parque Deportivo Panamericano on Day 10 of Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games on October 30, 2023 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Barcelona's Caroline Graham Hansen, center, in action during the women's Champions League quarterfinals, second leg, soccer match between FC Barcelona and SK Brann Kvinner at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Photo by Joan Monfort/AP Photo)

Texas state troopers in riot gear try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Austin, Texas, April 24, 2024. (Photo by Jay Janner/USA Today Network via Reuters)

Jaime Munguia lands a left to Canelo Alvarez in a super middleweight title fight Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)

Stiliana Nikolova of Bulgaria performs her ball exercise in the final of the individual competition of the 40th European Rhytmic Gymanstics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, 25 May 2024. (Photo by Tibor Illyes/EPA)