The hair of CSKA Moscow cheerleaders flies high as they perform during the Euroleague Basketball game between Alba Berlin and CSKA Moscow in Moscow, Russia, 04 February 2022. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

The Monse collection is prepared backstage during Fashion Week, Friday, February 7, 2020, in New York. (Photo by John Minchillo/AP Photo)

People of pro-government groups, with Russian flags, dance marching through downtown Moscow to mark People's Unity Day, a public holiday, in Russia, on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Russia marks National Unity Day on November 4 to celebrate the defeat of Polish invaders in 1612. (Photo by Ivan Sekretarev/AP Photo)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

A Bugattie Zero 400 Zero is pictured during opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

A dog walks past a mural by street artist Alex Martinez outside a shop which sells bags at Psiri area, central Athens, on Thursday, January 25, 2018. (Photo by Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo)

A riot policeman fires into the air during clashes with opposition supporters at a rally demanding a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 11, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

A communal worker removes the snow from steps next people dressed as pandas near the center of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, on November 14, 2018, during an heavy snowfall, the first one of this autumn season. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)