Tourists watch illuminated snow sculptures during the 31st Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition on January 4, 2019 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. The 31st Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition officially opened to public on December 29. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A Citroen Ami One concept car sits on display during the media day of the Auto Shanghai 2019 motor show in Shanghai, China, 16 April 2019. The 18th Shanghai international automobile industry exhibition runs from 16 to 25 April. (Photo by Wu Hong/EPA/EFE)

Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina competes during the long jump in the women's heptathlon at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang province on October 1, 2023. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

Creations by fashion designer Guo Pei, one of China's leading couture artists, are seen on display during the “Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination” exhibition at the M+ art museum in Hong Kong on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP Photo)

Teekhree Silpa-Archa of Thailand competes in the Figure Skating – Women Single Skating Short Program on day 6 of the 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025 at HIC Multifunctional Hall on February 12, 2025 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Competitors bounce off the wall following their Men's 60m Heat on day one of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 2025 at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park on March 21, 2025 in Nanjing, China. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

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.