Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) reacts as he talks to Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko before a meeting on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk, February 11, 2015. A document seen by Reuters at talks on the Ukraine crisis suggested the sides may agree to end fighting in eastern Ukraine with a ceasefire starting on February 14, the withdrawal of heavy weapons and the creation of a security zone. (Photo by Mykola Lazarenko/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)

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

Underground dancers dressed in Spiderman costumes perform in the subway of Saint Petersburg late on May 21, 2021. (Photo by Olga Maltseva/AFP Photo)

A worker cleans a statue of the founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin at Moscow Square in front of the House of Soviets in Saint-Petersburg on April 21, 2022. (Photo by Olga Maltseva/AFP Photo)

A street artist, calling on people to visit an amusement park, walks past the military-themed street exhibition “Together to Victory” in Saint Petersburg on February 3, 2025. (Photo by Olga Maltseva/AFP Photo)