“Exactly one year before the long awaited Sochi Olympics, Vladimir Putin went to Sochi personally to see how the construction is going. After receiving a report saying the ski jumps that were supposed to be ready in 2011, are not completed still, while their price has sky-rocketed from 1.2 billion to 8 billion roubles, he commented, “Good for you. Good job”, and then fired the vice president of the Olympic committee. Russian artist Vasily Slonov painted his view of the upcoming games, giving a new interpretation to the adored Russian mascot Cheburashka, and combining officially endorsed stereotypes of Russia with grimmer and less accepted ones”. – Ruskie.info. (Photo by Vasily Slonov)

A woman takes part in an extreme run competition in Zhodino, east of Minsk, September 26, 2015. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Starlings are seen at their nesting box in a private garden in the town of Bobruisk, Belarus, April 8, 2018. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Women take part in Belarus Cup in bodybuilding and fitness in Minsk, October 24, 2015. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

An installation with a copy of a tank is seen at a villager's house in the village of Vits, Belarus November 8, 2016. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Children play on a flooded street after heavy rain in Minsk, Belarus July 13, 2016. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Employees work on an electric train assembly line at the “Stadler Minsk” plant in Fanipol, Belarus February 10, 2016. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

A Belarussian woman looks in the mirror as she takes part in the festival of national traditions “Piatrovski” in the village of Shipilovichi, south of Minsk, July 12, 2015. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)