Maslenitsa is a traditional Slavic holiday dating back to pre-Christian days and it is celebrated a week before the Great Fast - the most important fasting season in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The word 'carnival' comes from the Latin expression 'carne levare', which means 'remove meat'. Carnival occurs in February or early March, a couple of weeks before Lent.

Spring is in the air and the number of festivals taking place all over the globe is on the rise.

The ill-fated ancient Roman city of Pompeii perished in 79 AD after the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried the settlement under volcanic ash and left it uninhabitable.

Every year, two weeks before Ash Wednesday - a Christian holy day of prayer and fasting, a magnificent carnival sweeps over the streets of Italy's Venice.

Japan is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. This Asian nation can't stop surprising us, and when you think that you've seen everything, this country manages to throw in something new and astonishing.

The Lakme Fashion Week is jointly organised by India's top cosmetics and beauty services brand Lakme and IMG Reliance Ltd, one of the leaders in sports, fashion and entertainment marketing and management.

The new coronavirus outbreak in China showing no signs of abating (the latest figures say that the infection has claimed the lives of 1,523 people in China, one person in the Philippines and another one in France), but life does not stop, even in the worst-affected regions.

What were the most important and eye-catching events of the past week? The answer is in our gallery.

The designing duo of Phillipe and David Blond, who launched their label back in 2008 and since then have supplied such superstars as Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Katy Perry with unique outfits returned this February to New York Fashion Week to present looks for Fall 2020.

For the second year, there was no host at the ceremony. Past winners and nominees, as well as Hollywood celebrities took the stage to announce the favourites chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  

Miss Russia is a national beauty pageant that selects Russian women to compete in two of the Big Four international beauty pageants: Miss World and Miss Universe.

Sputnik's weekly photo gallery presents a collection of pictures that show the most significant and eye-catching events that happened across the globe over the past seven days.

Today, a famous athlete turns 35. Here are some of the most interesting pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo!

The famous saying goes “better safe than sorry”. Nowadays, the expression seems to be quite to the point, as the world is alarmed over the outbreak of coronavirus in China, prompting more and more people to purchase one particular medical item – surgical masks.

Flamenco is not just a dance, it's a style, a way of life, even a whole world of art and fashion offering countless possibilities to express an undying passion and truly inspirational beauty. And, what could better show off the beautiful features of this style than a fashion show?

In ancient times, the northern lights filled people with fear, making them come up with odd legends. Later on, scientists not only found the cause of the occurrence but managed to forecast it and travel agencies have even started organising tours to show tourists nature's magical phenomenon.

30 years ago, on 31 January 1990, Moscow saw the opening of the first McDonald's in the USSR. Hundreds of people, who had in the past gone to Soviet cafes and bars that served dumplings, spent hours in queue on a cold January day to taste the previously unknown Western dishes.

Sputnik's photo gallery invites you to reflect on the most important and eye-catching events that happened across the world in the past seven days.

The Siege of Leningrad, one of the more horrific chapters in World War II, began on 8 September 1941 and lasted 872 days. Anywhere between 400,000 and 1.5 million people are said to have died, mostly due to starvation.