Here are some of the most compelling photographs from the first week of 2022 from around RFE/RL's region. For more photo galleries, see our photo gallery archive.
Photos Of The Week #1
- By RFE/RL
1
People attend the traditional annual bonfire of dried oak branches to celebrate Orthodox Christmas Eve, in front of a cathedral in Podgorica, Montenegro, on January 6.
2
A man shows off his riding skills during Epiphany celebrations in the village of Pietrosani, Romania.
3
A burqa-clad Afghan woman sits with a child on her lap as she seeks alms from passersby on a bridge in Kabul.
4
Kazakh troops are seen on Almaty's main square after the government cracked down on anti-government protests over a fuel price hike. President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev issued a stark warning to protesters that he has given security personnel a green light to “shoot to kill.” Dozens of people -- including 18 security officers -- were killed in the clashes.
5
A Russian woman runs with a dog in front of a MiG-19 fighter plane, a monument to military pilots, in Aviators Park in St. Petersburg.
6
The heads of mannequins are seen at a women's clothing store in Herat on January 5 after the Taliban ordered business owners in western Afghanistan to cut the heads off shop dummies, insisting that figures representing the human form violate Islamic law.
7
Muslim bride Kimile Avdinova has makeup applied to her face during her wedding ceremony in the village of Ribnovo, Bulgaria. The remote mountain village has kept its traditional winter marriage ceremony alive despite decades of communist persecution. The highlight of the ceremony is the painting of the bride's face, where in a private rite open only to female in-laws her face is covered in thick, chalky white paint and decorated with colorful sequins.
8
A woman watches a laser show during New Year's celebrations in Bucharest.
9
Police officers walk on a street decorated for the upcoming Christmas celebrations amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Moscow.
10
Ukrainian soldiers walk at the line of separation from Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
11
Pakistani lab technicians wait for people to take coronavirus tests at the PIMS Hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan.
12
A monument to former President Nursultan Nazarbaev was demolished by protesters in Taldykorgan in southern Kazakhstan on January 5. Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev declared a nationwide state of emergency after thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police and stormed government buildings in an unprecedented wave of unrest in the oil-rich Central Asian nation that was sparked by a fuel price hike.
13
A Russian paramedic responds to a call received by Rostov-on-Don's Emergency Care Hospital on New Year's Day.
14
A woman is seen at a commemoration event for the victims onboard flight PS752, a civilian airliner shot down by Iran on January 8, 2020.
