Photos of the Week: Nov. 14-20, 2009

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appearing on a hip-hop show on Muz-TV Friday, Nov. 13, where he said hip-hop could offer a cure to alcohol and drug abuse, major problems among youth. Putin's spokesman denied that the appearance had anything to do with the prime minister's sagging popularity ratings.

President Dmitry Medvedev and his economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich applauding Russia's World Cup playoff victory over Slovenia, which takes Russia one step closer to the finals in 2010, while in Singapore for an APEC summit Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Unfortunately, the Russian team fell later in the week in their second leg of the playoff match with Slovenia, dashing their hopes for a 2010 World Cup bid.

Medvedev, right, looking at U.S. President Barack Obama, left, during their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Singapore Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. Medvedev offered little specifics in his address to conference on the heels of his state-of-the-nation address last week.

Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia reacting after setting a new world record in the men's 200-meter backstroke finals at the swimming World Cup in Berlin Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. Vyatchanin clocked 1:46.11 at the meet, breaking the mark of 1:47.08 set by George du Rand of South Africa in Moscow one week ago.

A couple looking at the Kremlin shrouded with fog caused by warmer, wetter weather in Moscow Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009.

Activists from three pro-Kremlin youth groups rallying Monday against plans to tear down a wall dedicated to the late singer Viktor Tsoi, pictured, on the Arbat. Tsoi was considered a pioneer of rock music in the Soviet Union.

Chechen travelers going through customs at the Grozny airport as they leave on a Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia on Monday, Nov. 16. A chartered Boeing 757 jet carrying more than 200 passengers took off from the airport in the first international flight to leave the Chechen capital in 15 years.

A dog collecting change in an empty mayonnaise bucket on the Arbat.

The Russian-flagged icebreaker Captain Khlebnikov, seen near Antarctica in an undated photograph, was struggling to free itself from ice in the Antarctic on Thursday. The 101 passengers on board are passing the time by taking helicopter tours, while some are complaining of sunburn.

A woman walking with an umbrella during snowy weather on a Moscow street, Nov. 17, 2009.

Russian fans reacting as they watch a 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match against Slovenia on television at a sports bar in Moscow, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Slovenia upset nine-man Russia 1-0 in a frantic World Cup playoff second leg on to clinch a place at next year's finals.

Putin sitting beside Russian Academy of Sciences head Yury Osipov at a geographical society meeting Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009.

A parkour practitioner jumping from an 18-meter high roof to a 14-meter high roof across a 7-meter wide gap in St. Petersburg, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, with an advertising poster in the foreground, left. The jumper survived.

A woman wearing a face mask in the Moscow metro Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009.

Workers taking down stands on Ploshchad Revolyutsii.

A scientist holding a gyrfalcon, which was raised in captivity, in the Russian Falcon center at the Research Institute for Nature Protection in Moscow, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Fourteen rare yrfalcons were seized by the Moscow customs at Domodedovo airport on Wednesday and submitted for quarantine and rehabilitation to the Russian Falcon center. Two Syrian citizens were trying to smuggle them to Doha in Qatar, customs officials reported.

Nikolai Yushchenko, winner of the regional contest for the Best Grandfather Frost (Russia's equivalent of Santa Claus) 2009, giving an interview to local journalists in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009.

A new memorial to people killed in drunk-driving accidents standing near Ukraina Hotel. Moscow is hosting a two-day conference on road safety, which President Dmitry Medvedev has made a top priority.

Two people smoking on Thursday, which was International Anti-Smoking Day. Five million people worldwide die of smoking-related illnesses yearly.?