Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's broadcast region and beyond. For more photo galleries, see our Picture This archive.
Photos Of The Week #52
![Volunteers play with dogs at the Vafa Animal Shelter in Hashtgerd, in Iran's Alborz Province. (epa/Abedin Taherkenareh) ](https://gdb.rferl.org/1deab253-36bd-466f-b4d8-9f343c060b02_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Volunteers play with dogs at the Vafa Animal Shelter in Hashtgerd, in Iran's Alborz Province. (epa/Abedin Taherkenareh)
![Pope Francis kisses a statue of baby Jesus as he leads Christmas Eve Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 24. (Reuters/Tony Gentle)](https://gdb.rferl.org/79ad79d6-235c-4bb1-8f83-629f35957f5b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Pope Francis kisses a statue of baby Jesus as he leads Christmas Eve Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 24. (Reuters/Tony Gentle)
![Ivan Timofeenko, co-founder of "Newton Park", a private interactive Russian museum of science, dressed as Santa Claus, pours liquid nitrogen on the head of a visitor during a presentation on December 24. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)](https://gdb.rferl.org/0e63202d-9ef3-45e2-83c6-b42aaddc9f0b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Ivan Timofeenko, co-founder of "Newton Park", a private interactive Russian museum of science, dressed as Santa Claus, pours liquid nitrogen on the head of a visitor during a presentation on December 24. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
![A refugee family stands in front of their caravan the day before Christmas in a camp nicknamed 'The Jungle' in the French port of Calais. (epa/Stephanie Lecocq)](https://gdb.rferl.org/7a32dc58-3597-4e77-bcd8-a0a8a16b2887_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A refugee family stands in front of their caravan the day before Christmas in a camp nicknamed 'The Jungle' in the French port of Calais. (epa/Stephanie Lecocq)
![A Pakistani Muslim celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed in Lahore on December 23. (AFP/Arif Ali)](https://gdb.rferl.org/10a0f1a8-3959-497e-94ea-2e07070c18a7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Pakistani Muslim celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed in Lahore on December 23. (AFP/Arif Ali)
![Kashmiri Muslim women raise their arms as they pray upon seeing a relic of the Prophet Muhammad being displayed during the festival of Eid-e-Milad-ul-Nabi at Hazratbal shrine on a cold winter morning in Srinagar on December 24. (Reuters/Danish Ismail )](https://gdb.rferl.org/b1e5e73d-2db2-4f1a-a8e2-fddbbbdfb50d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kashmiri Muslim women raise their arms as they pray upon seeing a relic of the Prophet Muhammad being displayed during the festival of Eid-e-Milad-ul-Nabi at Hazratbal shrine on a cold winter morning in Srinagar on December 24. (Reuters/Danish Ismail )
![Projection mapping is shown on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin. (TASS/Yegor Aleyev)](https://gdb.rferl.org/c06ac57f-2939-4634-801e-d4c8bef8b379_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Projection mapping is shown on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin. (TASS/Yegor Aleyev)
![A driver of a mobile shop, dressed as "Father Frost" (a Slavic equivalent of Santa Claus), helps a woman carry products that she bought on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, on December 23. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)](https://gdb.rferl.org/3eb24837-fac6-4838-848b-7112366f99c0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A driver of a mobile shop, dressed as "Father Frost" (a Slavic equivalent of Santa Claus), helps a woman carry products that she bought on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, on December 23. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)
![A Christian Orthodox Russian prays at the 14-pointed silver star marking the believed location of the birth of Christ, during a candlelight procession of prayer in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 22. (epa/Abed Al Hashlamoun)](https://gdb.rferl.org/bacc9aef-57bf-4222-8e5f-ea81cc18cbba_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Christian Orthodox Russian prays at the 14-pointed silver star marking the believed location of the birth of Christ, during a candlelight procession of prayer in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 22. (epa/Abed Al Hashlamoun)
![An Afghan girl walks outside her home during sunset on the outskirts of Herat. (AFP/Aref Karimi)](https://gdb.rferl.org/6e2bd251-2ab0-4218-9efa-df40491d08d3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An Afghan girl walks outside her home during sunset on the outskirts of Herat. (AFP/Aref Karimi)
![A young Afghan internally displaced person (IDP) eats a meal at an IDP camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. (epa/Hedaytullah Amid)](https://gdb.rferl.org/78f1bee3-e9dd-46d5-bcdf-cd5ef846fe4d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A young Afghan internally displaced person (IDP) eats a meal at an IDP camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. (epa/Hedaytullah Amid)
![Whirling dervishes perform during a "Seb-i Arus" ceremony at Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. (epa/Sedat Suna)](https://gdb.rferl.org/07175ba4-8b00-4c2f-83e7-3fd4dc31c214_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Whirling dervishes perform during a "Seb-i Arus" ceremony at Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. (epa/Sedat Suna)
![A man walks his camel across the Liwa Oasis, southwest of the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi. (AFP/Karim Sahib)](https://gdb.rferl.org/43e98050-c1f6-45c5-9ebc-ed05ae6122f9_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man walks his camel across the Liwa Oasis, southwest of the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi. (AFP/Karim Sahib)
![People dressed as Ded Moroz (Father Frost), his granddaughter Snegurochka, and other characters, walk during a festive preholiday procession, with a board showing currency exchange rates seen in the foreground, in Krasnodar, Russia, on December 20. (Reuters/Eduard Korniyenko)](https://gdb.rferl.org/53cda01a-bd8f-4c15-9dc7-6372a02a4408_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People dressed as Ded Moroz (Father Frost), his granddaughter Snegurochka, and other characters, walk during a festive preholiday procession, with a board showing currency exchange rates seen in the foreground, in Krasnodar, Russia, on December 20. (Reuters/Eduard Korniyenko)
![A woman walks on the Smetovi mountain range near Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)](https://gdb.rferl.org/b5039821-99e7-4a4e-a228-3e2fe7d4d07b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman walks on the Smetovi mountain range near Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)