Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's coverage area and beyond for the 51st week of 2018. For more photo galleries, see our photo gallery archive.
Photos Of The Week #51
![Muslims pray outside the shrine of a Sufi saint in Srinagar, Kashmir on December 21.(Reuters/Danish Ismail) ](https://gdb.rferl.org/e432a5ba-7874-4d0c-b00f-621cb9a0c993_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Muslims pray outside the shrine of a Sufi saint in Srinagar, Kashmir on December 21.(Reuters/Danish Ismail)
![Ukrainian nationalists burn smoke grenades at a rally in downtown Lviv on December 21. (EPA/Pavlo Palamarchuk) ](https://gdb.rferl.org/55625254-edf0-4cae-8473-b3cb20dad970_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Ukrainian nationalists burn smoke grenades at a rally in downtown Lviv on December 21. (EPA/Pavlo Palamarchuk)
![Acehnese Muslims take part in a protest rally in support of Muslims in China, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (epa-EFE/Hotli Simanjuntak)](https://gdb.rferl.org/89876d2a-edc9-4c48-ba61-b0673fa417a8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Acehnese Muslims take part in a protest rally in support of Muslims in China, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (epa-EFE/Hotli Simanjuntak)
![Security hold opposition lawmaker Endri Hasa (foreground center) as he throws an egg at Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (background left) during a debate in parliament in Tirana on December 20. (AP)](https://gdb.rferl.org/4c75f936-fac3-4244-ac5b-67e284584e30_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Security hold opposition lawmaker Endri Hasa (foreground center) as he throws an egg at Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (background left) during a debate in parliament in Tirana on December 20. (AP)
![Ukrainian members of parliament scuffle during a session in Kyiv on December 20. (AFP/Oleksandr Kosmach)](https://gdb.rferl.org/b09d1b65-77c1-435d-a448-0ff71edc6e5a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Ukrainian members of parliament scuffle during a session in Kyiv on December 20. (AFP/Oleksandr Kosmach)
![The new Russian icebreaker ship Andrei Vilkitsky makes its way on the Neva River. (TASS/Anton Vaganov)](https://gdb.rferl.org/41292b36-712a-4ecc-bb4a-d76a35b38a66_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The new Russian icebreaker ship Andrei Vilkitsky makes its way on the Neva River. (TASS/Anton Vaganov)
![People dressed as Santa Claus stand next to Christmas lights in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev )](https://gdb.rferl.org/c98794e2-9070-44e3-9558-1b30054b8f76_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People dressed as Santa Claus stand next to Christmas lights in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev )
![A man drinks coffee in front of screens broadcasting Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference, at a bar in Moscow on December 20. (AFP/Vasily Maksimov)](https://gdb.rferl.org/a7c19561-1a26-4a2a-afc8-04855ddf63d7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man drinks coffee in front of screens broadcasting Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference, at a bar in Moscow on December 20. (AFP/Vasily Maksimov)
![The parachute of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft shortly after the capsule landed with Expedition 57 crew members in a remote area of Kazakhstan on December 20, 2018. Three astronauts landed back on Earth after a troubled stint on the ISS marred by an air leak and the failure of a rocket set to bring new crew members. (AFP/NASA/Bill Ingalls)](https://gdb.rferl.org/5980869d-77df-4755-b01b-b3d2052a8ae2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The parachute of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft shortly after the capsule landed with Expedition 57 crew members in a remote area of Kazakhstan on December 20, 2018. Three astronauts landed back on Earth after a troubled stint on the ISS marred by an air leak and the failure of a rocket set to bring new crew members. (AFP/NASA/Bill Ingalls)
![Lamplighter Jan Tater lights an antique gas lamp on Charles Bridge in Prague, (epa-EFE/Martin Divisek)](https://gdb.rferl.org/0770057f-29a7-4017-a192-001f00e1814c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Lamplighter Jan Tater lights an antique gas lamp on Charles Bridge in Prague, (epa-EFE/Martin Divisek)
![A man with a bag walks under a seasonal New Year Tree on a winter's day in central Minsk, Belarus. (epa-EFE/Tatyana Zenkovich)](https://gdb.rferl.org/6b942712-06fa-4a42-89da-9e14fec4ce77_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man with a bag walks under a seasonal New Year Tree on a winter's day in central Minsk, Belarus. (epa-EFE/Tatyana Zenkovich)
![A church stands above a layer of fog in the village of Soshartyan, 115 kilometers northeast of Budapest. (MTI via AP/Peter Komka)](https://gdb.rferl.org/cdcc1d02-c1be-4848-a47a-905b9183a46c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A church stands above a layer of fog in the village of Soshartyan, 115 kilometers northeast of Budapest. (MTI via AP/Peter Komka)
![Rare ice formations called "ice flowers" are seen on Lake Valdai in Russia's Novgorod region, northwest of Moscow. (Valday.com/Timofey Shutov)](https://gdb.rferl.org/b4c8f7b1-b8c8-4e21-b11d-190bc9adb06f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Rare ice formations called "ice flowers" are seen on Lake Valdai in Russia's Novgorod region, northwest of Moscow. (Valday.com/Timofey Shutov)
![Giant waves at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. (Wright Aura Photography via Reuters)](https://gdb.rferl.org/802d9f2d-dbd3-44ff-92be-1b6667afedfd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Giant waves at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. (Wright Aura Photography via Reuters)
![A diver wearing a Santa Claus costume swims in a large fish tank during an underwater performance at the Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo. (Reuters/Issei Kato)](https://gdb.rferl.org/f895baf7-b5dd-4e40-8139-2d16fe19b1eb_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A diver wearing a Santa Claus costume swims in a large fish tank during an underwater performance at the Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo. (Reuters/Issei Kato)
![Prisoners having a meal in a canteen at the maximum security correctional colony No. 2 in the village of Shara-Gorokhon, Karymsky District, in Russia's Transbaikal region. (TASS/Yevgeny Yepanchintsev)](https://gdb.rferl.org/e43c3131-aa68-47f4-b52c-3be6a3a5ac9c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Prisoners having a meal in a canteen at the maximum security correctional colony No. 2 in the village of Shara-Gorokhon, Karymsky District, in Russia's Transbaikal region. (TASS/Yevgeny Yepanchintsev)
![Free divers pose with a Christmas tree near the surface before diving to place it on the seafloor off the coast of the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli. (AFP/Ibrahim Chalhoub)](https://gdb.rferl.org/1f02741c-036b-4cee-8ee5-3f87f7096bfc_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Free divers pose with a Christmas tree near the surface before diving to place it on the seafloor off the coast of the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli. (AFP/Ibrahim Chalhoub)
![A frosty sunset is seen through icicles in the village of Peremilovo, 65 kilometers north of Moscow (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)](https://gdb.rferl.org/da4139a5-be2e-41c8-95a2-f98a35b5cb71_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A frosty sunset is seen through icicles in the village of Peremilovo, 65 kilometers north of Moscow (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
![The Russian cargo ship Kuzma Minin is shown after she ran aground off the southwestern English coast near Falmouth in Cornwall. Reuters says the 180-meter ship, with 18 Russian crew on board, dragged its anchor in strong winds and then ran aground. There is no cargo on board. (Twitter @Alexandriapesic via Reuters)](https://gdb.rferl.org/9df06731-2be5-4914-96d6-00fee3eb183c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The Russian cargo ship Kuzma Minin is shown after she ran aground off the southwestern English coast near Falmouth in Cornwall. Reuters says the 180-meter ship, with 18 Russian crew on board, dragged its anchor in strong winds and then ran aground. There is no cargo on board. (Twitter @Alexandriapesic via Reuters)
![A woman walks amid snow-covered trees in Moscow. (epa-EFE/Yuri Kochetkov)](https://gdb.rferl.org/dc3a583a-abe3-4dd6-811e-d348cd63218e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman walks amid snow-covered trees in Moscow. (epa-EFE/Yuri Kochetkov)
![A man passes by Christmas lights in Belgrade. (epa-EFE/Srdjan Suki)](https://gdb.rferl.org/b9245a85-e911-43eb-898d-c7d71d9cce36_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man passes by Christmas lights in Belgrade. (epa-EFE/Srdjan Suki)
![A bodybuilder performs during a competition in Bishkek. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)](https://gdb.rferl.org/cab0229e-813e-4a13-bc51-41e46b1e67a7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A bodybuilder performs during a competition in Bishkek. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko)
![Anna Donath, vice president of the opposition party Momentum Movement, holds a flare during a protest against a proposed new labor law, billed as the "slave law," in Budapest. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo)](https://gdb.rferl.org/807581a5-89e2-4d94-a77b-9a0ca0332b10_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Anna Donath, vice president of the opposition party Momentum Movement, holds a flare during a protest against a proposed new labor law, billed as the "slave law," in Budapest. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo)
![The Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka speeds down the course during training for the women's World Cup downhill in Val Gardena, Italy. (AP/Alessandro Trovati)](https://gdb.rferl.org/e6958cac-c2b7-4f53-bad8-e10610348d23_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka speeds down the course during training for the women's World Cup downhill in Val Gardena, Italy. (AP/Alessandro Trovati)
![A mother holds her daughter who was injured in an air strike in Kunar Province as she receives medical treatment at a hospital in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. According to local officials, at least 20 Afghan civilians, including 12 children, were killed in an air strike targeting a Taliban commander. (epa-EFE/Ghulamullah Habibi)](https://gdb.rferl.org/d67cd370-9285-439e-b35c-6e1457c475e1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A mother holds her daughter who was injured in an air strike in Kunar Province as she receives medical treatment at a hospital in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. According to local officials, at least 20 Afghan civilians, including 12 children, were killed in an air strike targeting a Taliban commander. (epa-EFE/Ghulamullah Habibi)