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.

A mahout rides an elephant at Tad Sae Waterfall outside Luang Prabang, Laos July 31, 2016. Protected by the United Nations cultural heritage agency UNESCO, Luang Prabang is one of the most alluring places in the region – a city that evokes old-world romance that has gained a reputation as a travellers' Shangri La. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A neighborhood watch volunteer stands guard on her street on February 9, 2017 in Peronia, Guatemala. Residents of Peronia, south of Guatemala City organized block by block to secure their community after ten of their neighbors in January were killed, they say, for refusing to pay extortion money to gangs. Armed with machetes and sticks, residents take turns each night, baring strangers' entry into their neighborhoods. Violence and poverty continue to drive emigration from Central America to the United States, even as the Trump administration moves to tighten border security. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A priest comforts one of the relatives of the victims, before a mass in their memory, as Lebanon marks one-year anniversary of Beirut port explosion, at the port in Beirut, Lebanon on August 4, 2021. United in grief and anger, families of the victims and other Lebanese came out into the streets of Beirut on Wednesday to demand accountability as banks, businesses and government offices shuttered to mark one year since the horrific explosion. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly officially designated November 19 as World Toilet Day, which is coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with governments and partners. Here: An open-air toilet and a hot spring shower are seen in the middle of nowhere on the road to the Krafla geothermal power station and lava fields, near Reykjahlid and Lake Myvatn in northeastern Iceland, on August 19, 2012. (Photo by Mariana Suarez/AFP Photo)

A dead green sea turtle is collected from the beach at the Khor Kalba Conservation Reserve, in the city of Kalba, on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, February 1, 2022. A staggering 75% of all dead green turtles and 57% of all loggerhead turtles in Sharjah had eaten marine debris, including plastic bags, bottle caps, rope and fishing nets, a new study published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. The study seeks to document the damage and danger of the throwaway plastic that has surged in use around the world and in the UAE, along with other marine debris. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev as he bids the last farewell to his wife Raisa Gorbacheva during the funeral ceremony in Moscow, Russia, 23 September 1999 (reissued 30 August 2022). According to a Moscow Central Clinical Hospital statement, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has died at the age of 91. As a supporter of the de-Stalinization programs of his predecessor Nikita Khrushchev, Gorbachev initiated numerous reforms during his tenure. He signed a nuclear arms treaty with the United States and withdrew the Soviet Union from the Soviet-Afghan war. His policies created freedom of speech and press, and decentralized fiscal policy planning and execution to increase efficiency. Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, overseeing Russia’s transition from one party rule to fragile democracy. (Photo by Sergey Chirikov/EPA/EFE)

Female North Korean soldiers patrol along the banks of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, April 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States were on high alert for a North Korean missile launch on Thursday as the hermit kingdom turned its attention to celebrating its ruling Kim dynasty and appeared to tone down rhetoric of impending war. (Photo by Jacky Chen/Reuters)

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