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.

In this handout provided by Maritime New Zealand, MV Rena is battered by strong seas as it is stuck on Astrolabe Reef, on November 2, 2011 in Tauranga, New Zealand. The stricken vessel encountered a three metre swell, which led authorities to fear it may finally break up. Rena struck the reef on October 5, and has spilled 350 tonnes of oil, and almost 100 shipping containers. (Photo by Graeme Brown/Maritime New Zealand via Getty Images)

A Sri Lankan fisherman tries to push back stranded pilot whales into the deep water in the northwestern coast of Kudawa on February 11, 2023. Eleven pilot whales were saved on February 11 after beaching on Sri Lanka's western coast in the early hours, wildlife officials told AFP. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

A wild macaque monkey eats fruit dropped by pedestrians in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on June 11, 2013. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A supporter of the Houthi movement attends a rally marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed, in Sanaa, Yemen December 11, 2016. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

Young gymnasts practice pull-up on a bar at a gymnasium of a sports school in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province April 11, 2015. (Photo by William Hong/Reuters)

A man prepares tea at a roadside shop on a flooded street in Kolkata, India, August 11, 2016. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

People ride on a truck as they return to their families ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Khartoum September 11, 2016. (Photo by Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)