Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, passed a controversial bill known as the "slapping law." It says that a man who beats his wife, but manages to leave only bruises or abrasions, will no longer be guilty of a crime. The violence is classed as an administrative offense. Tattoo artist, Yevgeniya Zakhar, gives free tattoos to victims of domestic abuse, to cover their scars.

Yevgeniya posted an ad on her social media page last year, offering to ink abused women for free, after hearing about a Brazilian tattoo artist who came up with the idea. Soon, she was flooded with requests - and became so stressed hearing her clients' stories of beatings and burnings, that she had to limit the number of women she sees to one day a week.

Guldar, who is getting a tattoo on her belly, cringes with pain. Yevgenia explains, "I didn't expect to be inundated with clients. I had to work on two to four women per day. It's really scary to see the extent of this problem and hear what people are saying." Yevgeniya works in Ufa, a city about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) east of Moscow.

Domestic violence is a long-standing problem in Russia. Police estimate that about 40 percent of all violent crimes take place within families. In 2013 alone, around 9,100 Russian women died as a consequence of domestic violence. Another 11,300 suffered severe injuries, says human rights advocate Anna Rivina, head of the project "Nasiliju.Net" (No to Violence).

Yevgeniya shows the scars left on her client Lilya. Women usually pick butterflies or floral designs to cover the visible signs of abuse. They confide in the artist, sharing the horrors of relationships that turned viciously violent. Transforming the scars into something of their own choosing boosts the womens' self-esteem and helps them gain new perspectives on the trauma.

Yevgeniya hugs a client. She has tattooed more than 1,000 women at no cost since she started reaching out to abuse victims last year. She says not one reported receiving help from police. "Girls are willing to talk, often because it will be the last time they speak about the scars," she said. "They don't talk about it later because they will be talking about their beautiful tattoo, not a scar."

Putin joined the KGB, the former Soviet Union's security agency, in 1975. In the 1980s he undertook his first foreign posting as a KGB agent to Dresden, Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Putin returned to Russia and entered Boris Yeltsin's Kremlin. When Yeltsin announced that he wanted Putin as his successor, the way was paved for him to become prime minister.

On his appointment, Putin was virtually unknown to the general public. This changed when in August 1999 armed men from Chechnya invaded the neighboring Russian territory of Dagestan. President Yeltsin appointed ex-KGB officer Putin to bring Chechnya back under the central government's control. On New Year's Eve, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and named Putin as acting president.

During an exhibition hockey game in Sochi, Putin’s team won 18-6, with the president scoring eight goals.

A protester wears a tape over his mouth reading "Putin" during an opposition rally. In 2013 the Kremlin announced that the state-owned news agency, RIA Novosti, was to be restructured and placed under the control of a pro-Kremlin figure known for his extreme anti-Western views. Reporters without Borders ranked Russia as 148 in its list of 178 countries in terms of press freedom.

Putin's image as a man of action, boosted by his having been a KGB spy, has long been part of his appeal in Russia. It is carefully maintained by means of photos where he is seen bare-chested on horseback, or tossing opponents onto a judo mat. In Russia, Putin has earned praise for restoring stability but has also been accused of authoritarianism.

When President Putin's United Russia party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in 2007, critics described the vote as neither free nor democratic. Dozens were detained as riot police broke up protests by demonstrators accusing President Putin of stifling democracy. In this rally the poster reads: "Thank you, no!"

In Sevastopol, Crimea, Putin looks through the window of a research bathyscaphe in the waters of the Black Sea. This dive in a mini-submarine was only one of his adventurous stunts; he has also been seen tranquilizing wild tigers and flying with endangered cranes. It was also aimed at cementing his image as an adventurer, and demonstrating his control of the annexed territory of Crimea.