A group of policemen and passers-by survey the wreckage of a taxi in Stoke Newington, London. Its front wheel lies on the pavement next to a sign bearing the ironic instruction “All Cars Stop Here”. 14th February 1930. (Photo by Fox Photos). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.

A Aldabra Tortoise receives a Christmas treat at Taronga Zoo on December 14, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. Taronga Zoo celebrated Christmas early giving Christmas-themed environmental activities to the Zoo's Giraffes, Sun Bears, Meerkats, Aldabra Tortoise and Cockatoos providing a wonderful natural display for Zoo visitors. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams)

“Just hanging out”. As full autumn hits the valley of Hallingdal in Norway, this bear chills out in a tree which seems to barely cover its weight. Photo location: Flå, Hallingdal, Norway. (Photo and caption by Jorgen Tharaldsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Scarlett points at the huge ice sculpture of a bear during a Photocall for Magical Ice Kingdom at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park on November 17, 2016 in London, England. It is the event's 10th anniversary this year. (Photo by Ben Perry/Getty Images)

Children wearing bear fur costumes dance during a parade in Comanesti, Romania, Friday, December 30, 2022. In pre-Christian rural traditions, dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs, toured from house to house in villages singing and dancing to ward off evil. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

In this undated handout photograph from the “Inside Out Project”, a poster bearing the image of a Pakistani girl whose parents, lawyers say, were killed in a drone strike, lies in a field at an undisclosed location in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. A group of artists in Pakistan are hoping to generate “empathy” among US drone operators by placing giant posters of children in the country's troubled tribal regions. (Photo by AFP Photo)

“This cheeky polar bear tried to hitch a lift off an unsuspecting driver by clambering into the back of his pick-up truck. The curious creature spent about half an hour inspecting the vehicle and its owner before casually trying to climb aboard. However, the truck must not have been up to scratch because the 7ft bear, weighing approximately 300lbs, promptly jumped back out and sauntered off”. – Barcroft Media. Photo: “Awright mate, any chance of a lift to the North Pole?” (Photo by Steven Kazlowski/Barcroft Media)

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.