Commuters ride on the roof of a Jakarta state rail train at Cawang train station on January 27, 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz emblems stand ready for attachment to vehicles at the factory on January 30, 2012 in Sindelfingen, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images)

Artists preform on a pool suspended above the audience during the Fuerza Bruta dress rehearsal on February 1, 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Studio shot of the new Red Bull Racing RB8 Formula One car is released on February 6, 2012 in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo by Red Bull Racing/Getty Images)

Singer Rihanna in the audience at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy)

Rosanna Davison attends the “Lambertz Monday Night” at Alter Wartesaal on February 1, 2012 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

An Anti-Capitalist protestor from the Occupy LSX movement at St. Paul's Cathedral on February 22, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

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.