US President George W. Bush (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin wave as the two presidents go for a ride in Putin's 1956 Volga before dinner 08 May 2005 at the his residence outside of Moscow. Bush hailed Russia's “bravery and sacrifice” in defeating Nazism, as he met Putin ahead of ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Bush, who the previous day criticized the decades-long Soviet occupation of central Europe, said he was looking forward to the 09 May ceremony on Moscow's Red Square, to be attended by over 50 national leaders. (Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP Photo)

A man bathes in an ice hole in the Neva River St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, February 10, 2021. The temperature in St. Petersburg is –15C ( 5 °F). (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A view of the facade of a house in the village of Cherevkovo, Arkhangelsk region, Russia, July 12, 2016. Traditional wooden houses, many featuring exquisite carvings and craftsmanship, are falling into decay across Russia because of neglect, lack of funds and an exodus from the countryside to the cities. Urbanisation and a low birth rate are emptying out the countryside, and residents and authorities are often largely indifferent towards the historical value of their properties. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

The Rio dry cargo ship that has ran aground during a storm in December 2018 in Kabardinka, Krasnodar Territory, Russia on August 11, 2020. The vessel has become a tourist attraction of the region. (Photo by Alexander Ryumin/TASS)

A sailor of the Marshal Shaposhnikov anti-submarine destroyer takes part in the “Vostok-2022” military exercises at the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan outside the city of Vladivostok on September 5, 2022. The Vostok 2022 military exercises, involving several Kremlin-friendly countries including China, takes place from September 1-7 across several training grounds in Russia's Far East and in the waters off it. Over 50,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 units of military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships, are involved in the drills. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

Vendor Nyurgusun Starostina, 47, poses for a picture at an open-air market on a frosty day in Yakutsk, Russia, December 5, 2023. Temperatures in parts of the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia and located in the northeastern part of Siberia, went below minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) on December 5. (Photo by Roman Kutukov/Reuters)

Fifth-grade students of the General Yermolov Cadet School get prepared before their first military tactical exercise on the ground, which includes radiation resistance classes, forest survival studies and other activities, in Stavropol, Russia, September 10, 2016. Picture taken September 10, 2016. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)

Children, wearing red neckerchiefs, a symbol of the Pioneer Organization, salute during a ceremony for the inauguration of 18 new members at a local school in the southern settlement of Kazminskoye in Stavropol region, Russia, November 19, 2015. Early pro-communist youth movements, which appeared in Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, were reformed into the Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union. While the organization lost its dominance among students in post-Soviet Russia, some educational institutions and families still carry on this tradition. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)