A boy watches fireworks from a military range weapon, marking the Defender of the Fatherland Day celebrations, at the Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, February 23, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Burning effigies of winter during a celebration of Maslenitsa festival (Pancake Week) at the Etnomir (Ethnoworld) cultural and educational center in Kaluga Region, Russia on March 1, 2020. The holiday celebrates the end of winter and marks the arrival of spring. (Photo by Sergei Bobylev/TASS)

A woman walks in a street in freezing weather of –24 degrees Celsius in Omsk, Russia on January 13, 2021. Daytime temperatures have been below –20 degrees Celsius in the Omsk Region since 25 December 2020. (Photo by Yevgeny Sofiychuk/TASS)

People take pictures near a Soviet flag flying on an embankment in Saint Petersburg, Russia on June 17, 2023. The flags of Russia, the USSR, and the Russian Empire were installed on the shore to mark the anniversaries of each flag's adoption. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

A statue of Vladimir Lenin in 1905 Goda Square in Yekaterinburg, Russia on October 14, 2020, with a face mask put on and signed “Protect Yourself and the Ones You Love”. A group of medical volunteers has put face masks on local statues with consent from the authorities. (Photo by Donat Sorokin/TASS)

A dachshund dressed as a leo walks a podium during a dachshund parade festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, September 16, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A woman walks between Christmas trees at a Christmas market opened prior to incoming Christmas and New Year festivities in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, December 15, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Creative imagery bronze winner. Make-up by Chengbo Sun, China. (Photo by BPOTY/Cover Images)