Once the symbols of Russia's Cold War military might, these relics now lie abandoned in the snow.

These pictures are part of Restricted Areas, a series by Russian photographer Danila Tkachenko which shows lost remnants of the USSR's materiel and technology programmes.

"I travel in search of places which used to have great importance for technical progress, and which are now deserted," says Moscow-based Tkachenko, 25.

To shoot the series, he spent three months travelling Russia in the depths of winter. "I used a Mamiya 7, with a closed aperture and long exposure," he explains.

Among the haunting images: Chelyabinsk-40, an abandoned city site that fell victim to a nuclear accident that was covered up; an abandoned VVA14 plane; and the Bulgaria, a sunken military ship raised from the deep.

Tkachenko won the World Press Photo award for his work and Restricted Areas will be published in November. "Any progress comes to its end earlier or later," says Tkachenko. "For me it's interesting to witness what is left afterwards."

This article was originally published by WIRED UK