From the effects of the coronavirus pandemic to the aftermath of armed clashes, here are some of the most striking images of the year as taken by RFE/RL's photographers.
2021: The Year's Best From RFE/RL's Photographers
- By Lucie Steinzova and
- Kateryna Oliynyk
26
Ukrainian Paralympians are welcomed at Kyiv airport as they return from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on September 5.
27
Hasidic Jews attend Rosh Hashanah celebrations in Uman, Ukraine, on September 8. Around 30,000 pilgrims from more than 10 countries gathered for the event marking the Jewish New Year.
28
Two girls sit in class in Bishkek as schools reopened in Kyrgyzstan on September 15.
29
Preparations for a ceremony in Babyn Yar, Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 29. The 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar massacre, one of the largest mass slaughters of Jews during World War II, was commemorated this year.
30
Afghan women collect saffron flowers in Herat, Afghanistan, on November 11. The plant has been seen as an alternative to poppy cultivation in the country's impoverished rural regions.
31
Georgians rally in support of Mikheil Saakashvili, who was on hunger strike in prison, on November 15 in Tbilisi. Saakashvili, Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013, was arrested shortly after returning from self-imposed exile in Ukraine.
32
Afghans fleeing their homeland after the Taliban takeover cross into Pakistan at the Chaman border-crossing point on November 17.
33
The Bajgora Wind Park, Kosovo, on November 18. Kosovo gets just 3-5 percent of its energy from renewable sources, and is one of many Balkan countries that has faced energy shortages this winter.
34
The National History Museum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, reopened after renovations on November 19.
35
Thousands of miners halted work at Bosnia-Herzegovina's coal mines on November 23 and protested outside the seat of government in Sarajevo to demand better working conditions and higher salaries.
36
A Ukrainian soldier at the front line facing Russia-backed separatists in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, on December 7. Tensions are rising in the region as Russia has massed around 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine.
37
A snowy day on Wilson's Lane in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on December 13.
