Poznań is now Poland's fifth largest city. It is sometimes claimed to be the first capital of the kingdom of Poland. Poznań has many historic buildings and sights. The European Football Championship will take place in Poznan 2012.

Photo by: tiseb ; Source: Flickr

Born in Russia where he was educated in fine arts from a young age, Rinat Shingareev took an early interest in the subject, for which he showed an affinity and talent. Later moving to Italy to attend the Fine Arts Academy he has been described by Italian Maxim as “one of the most talented artists in the world”. Now based in London Shingareev continues to paint vibrant and thought provoking pieces.

“Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant (Russian: Ижевский Mашиностроительный Завод) or IZHMASH (ИЖМАШ) is a weapons and motor vehicle manufacturer based in Izhevsk, founded in 1807 at the decree of Tsar Alexander I, and is now one of the largest corporations in its field. It manufactures the famous Kalashnikov series of assault rifle, along with a host of other Russian arms, including medium cannons, missiles, and guided shells”. – Wikipedia. (Photo by Pismoshnaya.ru, 2012)

The claws are out for North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Russia's Vladimir Putin – as cats now able to use a model of him as a scratching post. And moggies can also maul at Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose face also features on the new cat toys which are 1.5ft tall and cost £4,500. They are made from hessian rope, and 3D-printed faces are then attached to the posts, before they are handpainted. The toys took a team of artists 200 hours to finish. (Photo by The Pussycat Riot)

Students from St Andrew's University indulge in a tradition of covering themselves with foam to honour the “academic family” on October 20, 2014, in St Andrews, Scotland. Every November the “raisin weekend” which is held in the university's Lower College Lawn, is celebrated and a gift of raisins (now foam) is traditionally given by first year students to their elders as a thank you for their guidance and in exchange they receive a receipt in Latin. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A Loggerhead sea turtle named Gal Handless is moved into a large case at the rescue center for sea turtles as it is transferred to the Istanbul Aquarium on May 29, 2013 in Michmoret, Israel. The turtle was rescued after losing her front fins when caught in a fishing net in 2004. She was rehabilitated at the rescue center but could not be returned back to the sea and now after 9 years she is being transferred to her new home at the Istanbul Aquarium in Turkey. (Photo by Uriel Sinai)

Tourists play at a beach covered by a thick layer of green algae in Qingdao, China, on July 3, 2013. A large quantity of non-poisonous green seaweed, enteromorpha prolifera, hit China's Qingdao coast last month. More than 20,000 tons of such seaweed has been removed from the city's beaches. This has now become an annual summer event. (Photo by Whitehotpix/ZumaPress.com)