Mikhail Gorbachev, last President of the Soviet Union, in his office at the Gorbachev Foundation.

Pensioners dance by a bandstand in a central Moscow park in temperatures of -24 centigrade. The group gather to dance there every weekend no matter what the weather.

A Russian policeman standing behind graffiti depicting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the three monkeys “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” watches as tens of thousands of demonstrators march in central Moscow and protest against election fraud and Putin in temperatures of -20 centigrade. Organisers claimed an attendance of 130,000 despite the bitter cold.

A man sing songs by Vladimir Vysotsky as hundreds of Russians gather, despite freezing temperatures of -15C, at the grave of the legendary bard singer, poet and actor Vysotsky on his birthday. Vysotsky, an alcoholic and heroin addict who died in 1980 aged 42 of a heart attack, is best known for his songs of Soviet prison and military life, and his acting on stage and screen. Much of his work was officially unpublished during his lifetime, and he remains a potent anti-authoritarian symbol of protest to Russians of all ages even today.

Some 70,000 Muscovites celebrate the Orthodox Epiphany holiday by diving into the city’s frozen lakes and rivers. Russian priests bless the waters and the faithful believe that by immersing themselves in the holy water they will wash away their sins for the year.