A man trying to climb a pole to get a prize during the Maslenitsa celebrations, with the Monument to Fighters for the Soviet Power in the Far East seen in the background, in Vladivostok, Russia, yesterday. Maslenitsa is widely viewed as a pagan holiday marking the end of winter and is celebrated with pancake eating, while the Orthodox Church considers it as the week of feasting before Lent. – Reuters pic, March 14, 2016.