Russians celebrated the end of winter and the start of spring at a festival by setting fire to a giant wooden structure at an open-air art park in central Russia.
Each year, a wooden structure is set alight at the Maslenitsa folk festival in the Kaluga region.
This year, the construction was dedicated to the Don Quixote character from books of Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, and his fight with windmills.
It took almost three months to build the 26-metre tall structure consisting of 24 wooden towers, festival organisers said.
Visitors were allowed to thoroughly inspect it before it was burnt down.
Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) is an Orthodox Christian tradition that falls on the last week before Orthodox Lent.
Also known as pancake week or butter week, Maslenitsa is celebrated in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and traditionally marks the end of winter, which the Orthodox Church has accommodated as a week of feasting.
