This is an icon of Christ holding the Gospel of the New Testament. The translation of the text is: "This is my commandment to you that ye love one another."

Many people believe that no religion existed during the Communist regime. This is untrue. Russians still went to Easter services, and many of the older generation had their own icons hidden away, but they had them. Figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva related that her greatgrandmother had secretly had her mother baptised when her mother was four.

The past meets the present in these Russian nesting dolls painted with the images of the Beatles.

Just as many believe there was no religion at all, many also think every Russian must have collections of these nesting dolls. But that's like saying every American has autographed baseballs or goes to Graceland every year. Yes, we can pick out "national characteristics", but everyone is an individual.