Ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist Iwata performs solo dance

Ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist Iwata performs solo dance

ULAN-UDE, Russia - Morihiro Iwata, artistic director at the Buryat National Academic Opera and Ballet House in the Russian republic of Buryatia, performs a solo dance in Ulan-Ude on Dec. 12, 2014, during a show to commemorate the establishment of his arts foundation to promote local artistic activities. Iwata was a soloist at the Bolshoi Ballet.

Ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist Iwata founds arts foundation

Ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist Iwata founds arts foundation

ULAN-UDE, Russia - People concerned pose before a show in Ulan-Ude in the Russian republic of Buryatia on Dec. 12, 2014, to commemorate the establishment of an arts foundation by Morihiro Iwata, artistic director at the Buryat National Academic Opera and Ballet House, to promote local artistic activities. Iwata was a soloist at the Bolshoi Ballet.

Ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist Iwata founds arts foundation

Ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist Iwata founds arts foundation

ULAN-UDE, Russia - Morihiro Iwata (front), artistic director at the Buryat National Academic Opera and Ballet House in the Russian republic of Buryatia, greets guests before a show in Ulan-Ude on Dec. 12, 2014, to commemorate the establishment of his arts foundation to promote local artistic activities. Iwata was a soloist at the Bolshoi Ballet.

Buddhist temple in Russia

Buddhist temple in Russia

ULAN-UDE, Russia - Members of a Russian family take photos at Ivolginsky datsan, a Tibetan Buddhist temple near Ulan-Ude in the Republic of Buryatia in East Siberia, Russia, on Dec. 4, 2012.

Buddhist temple in Russia

Buddhist temple in Russia

ULAN-UDE, Russia - A Russian woman and her child spin Mani wheels at Ivolginsky datsan, a Tibetan Buddhist temple near Ulan-Ude in the Republic of Buryatia in East Siberia, Russia, on Dec. 4, 2012.

Buddhist temple in Russia

Buddhist temple in Russia

ULAN-UDE, Russia - A Buryatian woman spins Mani wheels at Ivolginsky datsan, a Tibetan Buddhist temple near Ulan-Ude in the Republic of Buryatia in East Siberia, Russia, on Dec. 4, 2012.

Giant head statue of Lenin in Ulan-Ude, eastern Siberia

Giant head statue of Lenin in Ulan-Ude, eastern Siberia

Photo taken on April 29, 2015, shows a giant head statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ulan-Ude, capital of the Republic of Buryatia in Russia's eastern Siberia. It is known as the largest head among existing Lenin statues in the former Soviet Union. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo