Here are some of the most compelling photographs from the last week of 2021 from around RFE/RL's region. For more photo galleries, see our photo gallery archive.
Photos Of The Week #52
- By RFE/RL
![A boy stands next to livestock in a market in Kabul.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bc5c0000-0aff-0242-6420-08d9cbaf146a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A boy stands next to livestock in a market in Kabul.
![A woman and children walk past a mural at a park in the Iranian capital, Tehran.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bc5c0000-0aff-0242-b8de-08d9cad9ff64_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman and children walk past a mural at a park in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
![People watch from a passing bus as health workers protest to demand better working and salary conditions outside the government building in Bucharest, Romania.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08810000-0a00-0242-f319-08d9cc5eb840_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People watch from a passing bus as health workers protest to demand better working and salary conditions outside the government building in Bucharest, Romania.
![Pedestrians walk in front of a 2022 sign in downtown Pristina on December 30, ahead of the New Year celebrations in Kosovo.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08810000-0a00-0242-eca0-08d9cc448203_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Pedestrians walk in front of a 2022 sign in downtown Pristina on December 30, ahead of the New Year celebrations in Kosovo.
![Christmas decorations and light sculptures illuminate the center of Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgia, as a mainly Orthodox Christian country, celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar that sees the holidays 13 days later than in the Gregorian calendar.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-4b44-08d9cbafa884_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Christmas decorations and light sculptures illuminate the center of Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgia, as a mainly Orthodox Christian country, celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar that sees the holidays 13 days later than in the Gregorian calendar.
![A man stands at the site of a religious school that collapsed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. At least 13 people were injured in the accident.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-977d-08d9cc5f2db7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man stands at the site of a religious school that collapsed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. At least 13 people were injured in the accident.
![A Ukrainian soldier smokes at the line of separation from Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on December 30.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08810000-0a00-0242-81ae-08d9cc5f65b5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Ukrainian soldier smokes at the line of separation from Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on December 30.
![Afghan refugee schoolchildren attend a class at a makeshift school on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-23e5-08d9cc5fe73f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan refugee schoolchildren attend a class at a makeshift school on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.
![A worker hangs dyed shawls at a shop in Lahore, Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bc5c0000-0aff-0242-b4ea-08d9cad9ffed_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A worker hangs dyed shawls at a shop in Lahore, Pakistan.
![A woman takes a photo of ice-covered vehicles unloaded from the cargo ship Sun Rio, which was caught in severe weather conditions in the Sea of Japan, in the port of Vladivostok, Russia.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-b36e-08d9cada0bbb_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman takes a photo of ice-covered vehicles unloaded from the cargo ship Sun Rio, which was caught in severe weather conditions in the Sea of Japan, in the port of Vladivostok, Russia.
![Boys play cricket in the rain at a park in Karachi, Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-fc59-08d9cada0bab_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Boys play cricket in the rain at a park in Karachi, Pakistan.
![Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny gestures while speaking via a video link from a prison during a court session in Petushki in the Vladimir region, about 120 kilometers east of Moscow, on December 28. Navalny appeared at a hearing on his lawsuit against the fact that his prison colony classified him as posing a potential extremist or terrorist threat.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1bcf0000-0aff-0242-2e67-08d9ca18ee7f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny gestures while speaking via a video link from a prison during a court session in Petushki in the Vladimir region, about 120 kilometers east of Moscow, on December 28. Navalny appeared at a hearing on his lawsuit against the fact that his prison colony classified him as posing a potential extremist or terrorist threat.
![People walk near a Christmas market set up in Red Square in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-1bb7-08d9cad9fdfc_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People walk near a Christmas market set up in Red Square in Moscow.
![A customs official stands guard during an event organized to destroy seized illicit alcohol and drugs that had been smuggled into the country, in Karachi, Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08810000-0a00-0242-1a71-08d9cada03df_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A customs official stands guard during an event organized to destroy seized illicit alcohol and drugs that had been smuggled into the country, in Karachi, Pakistan.
![People surround a new military transport aircraft, the Аn-178-100R, designed for the Ukrainian armed forces during its rollout at the Antonov aircraft plant in Kyiv on December 28.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-c7ff-08d9ca174517_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People surround a new military transport aircraft, the Аn-178-100R, designed for the Ukrainian armed forces during its rollout at the Antonov aircraft plant in Kyiv on December 28.
![Afghan women shout slogans during a rally in Kabul on December 28 to protest against Taliban restrictions on women.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-aac1-08d9ca173f83_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan women shout slogans during a rally in Kabul on December 28 to protest against Taliban restrictions on women.
![A woman carries a child as she begs for money from commuters in a car in Kabul.](https://gdb.rferl.org/de050000-0aff-0242-cf1d-08d9c92903f3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman carries a child as she begs for money from commuters in a car in Kabul.
![People dressed as Santa Claus run during the annual Santa race competition in Skopje, North Macedonia, on December 26.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1bcf0000-0aff-0242-cc84-08d9c92801de_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People dressed as Santa Claus run during the annual Santa race competition in Skopje, North Macedonia, on December 26.
![Members of a local winter swimming club take part in festive bathing in the icy waters of Boyarskoye Lake outside Tomsk, Russia.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-8331-08d9c9280a4d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Members of a local winter swimming club take part in festive bathing in the icy waters of Boyarskoye Lake outside Tomsk, Russia.
![Students and revelers take part in the annual pre-New Year's masquerade themed "Escape From Reality" at the Faculty of Technical Science in Belgrade, Serbia, on December 26.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-4ca1-08d9c92801e4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Students and revelers take part in the annual pre-New Year's masquerade themed "Escape From Reality" at the Faculty of Technical Science in Belgrade, Serbia, on December 26.
![A man sells stickers picturing the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, at a market in Kabul.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1bcf0000-0aff-0242-59fc-08d9c9290042_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man sells stickers picturing the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, at a market in Kabul.
![Two brothers carrying canisters with a wheelbarrow react on their way to collect water from a stagnant pool, about 3 kilometers from their home in the village of Kamar Kalagh outside Herat, Afghanistan. Afghanistan's drought, its worst in decades, is now entering its second year, exacerbated by climate change.](https://gdb.rferl.org/08ef0000-0a00-0242-551f-08d9c929003f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Two brothers carrying canisters with a wheelbarrow react on their way to collect water from a stagnant pool, about 3 kilometers from their home in the village of Kamar Kalagh outside Herat, Afghanistan. Afghanistan's drought, its worst in decades, is now entering its second year, exacerbated by climate change.